ATLANTA—Officials with Access Point Financial, a full-service lending and advisory company focused on the hospitality industry, today announced that they have closed on a senior secured credit facility with Wells Fargo Capital Finance, part of Wells Fargo & Company. The facility, combined with a substantial equity investment in Access Point by Stone Point Capital, LLC, puts the company on track to place $1 billion in loans for hotel improvement/bridge financing by 2015, in line with its initial projections.
“We are pleased to have established a relationship with Access Point Financial,” said Andrea Petro, division manager of the Lender Finance division of Wells Fargo Capital Finance. “We look forward to supporting Jon Wright and his company’s senior management team in its plans for the successful growth of their business.”
“We are in the early stages of seeing meaningful debt funding return to the hotel industry,” said Jon S. Wright, president and CEO of Access Point. “At this stage of the rebound, only the most experienced lenders and hoteliers are active, and we applaud Wells Fargo for its continued leadership in the hotel industry. This infusion from Wells Fargo Capital Finance, along with continued improvements in the hotel economy, will help us accelerate and facilitate the much needed flow of capital to the hotel industry. This credit facility will allow us to further execute our growth plans and achieve our initial target of placing $1 billion in loans in our first three years.”
Access Point is a direct lender providing loans starting from $200,000 for CapEx up to $40 million for brand sponsored construction programs. Hotels that are executing renovation programs also can combine low-leveraged first mortgages with Access Point’s capital expenditure financing.
“We have helped our clients through every economic cycle since the savings and loan crisis of the 1990s, and that industry perspective is one of the most important things we bring to our clients,” Wright said. “Most senior hotel debt today is locked up in CMBS loans, and new debt remains difficult to obtain. Because we understand the industry and have the backing of Wells Fargo, one of the nation’s largest banks, we can help hoteliers tap into their liquidity and improve their properties, with rates and terms that reflect the value of their assets and the owner’s credit worthiness.”
In addition to sourcing new funding, Access Point recently was awarded Platinum status by the IHG Owners Association, and was appointed as an Associate Member of the Association of Starwood Franchisees and Owners North America (ASFONA) with Jon Wright serving as an Honorary Board Member.
“IHG owners continue to invest in upgrading and repositioning their brands,” said Eva Ferguson, president of IHG Owners Association. “Having a strong relationship with the leading diversified hospitality lender benefits our owners by providing knowledgeable, experienced lending experts that understand the needs of the hotel industry.”
“The credit markets remain somewhat restrained,” said John A. Shingler, president of ASFONA. “With the industry in recovery, however, funding is slowly becoming more available. Having this alliance with Access Point will help our owners keep abreast of what’s happening in the financial community, and give them direct access to a lender that thoroughly understands our business.”