Company Description:

• The il Lugano (the “Hotel”) is a 104-room full service hotel property situated on a 1.10 acre site in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. In addition, the property has 23 condominium units on the top four floors.

Challenges Faced:

• SageCrest (its parent hedge fund) provided a mezzanine construction loan to the original developer of the hotel who defaulted; SageCrest subsequently purchased the senior loan and completed construction.
• The Hotel filed for Chapter 11 protection following a dispute with a management company that claimed it was due 40 years of management fees for a cancelled contract.

Solutions Provided by SOLIC Professionals:

• Serve as the Trustee of the Hotel’s parent and as the Owner Representative, as well as the Asset Manager taking an active role in the day-to-day operations of the hotel.
• During the course of the engagement, SOLIC professionals:
  • Took control of the property and immediately replaced key executives including the General Manager;
  • Hired a professional hotel Property Manager to provide a focused turnaround of the property with direct oversight by SOLIC professionals;
  • Restarted the sale of the remaining unsold condos resulting in 10 condo sales for $8.9 million in 24 months; and,
  • Negotiated settlements with claimants resulting in a Consensual Plan of Reorganization.

Result Highlights:

• Drove year-over-year growth in occupancy, ADR and RevPAR, with Hotel Revenue improving by 18%, with Net Operating Income improving by 60%.
• Orchestrated a competitive process, structured and negotiated the successful sale of il Lugano for $21.6 million to Claremont Ft. Lauderdale Suites LLC.

Company Description:

• Taylor Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corporation (‘TBW”) was the nation’s largest independent residential mortgage originator, headquartered in Ocala, Florida. The Company serviced $80 billion of mortgage loans and originated approximately $40 billion annually of mortgage loans.

Challenges Faced:

• TBW was terminated as an approved servicer by Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae and over $2 billion of TBW’s funds were frozen at Colonial Bank in connection with its seizure by the FDIC. TBW also owned various insurance companies, title companies, commercial real estate holdings, as well as Platinum Community Bank that was seized by the FDIC.

Solutions Provided by SOLIC Professionals:

• Served as Chief Restructuring Officer and provided support personnel in connection with the Company’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.
• Coordinated and directed the administration of the Company’s Chapter 11 case, including assistance with respect to the preparation of bankruptcy schedules, statements of financial affairs and plan of reorganization or liquidation relating to the Company.

Result Highlights:

• Oversaw the orderly disposition of approximately 4,500 foreclosed homes.
• Post-bankruptcy, continue to serve as Liquidating Trustee and Chief Financial Officer.
• Pursued significant litigation recoveries in order to maximize return to stakeholders including filing two of the largest accounting malpractice claims in history, as well as hundreds of avoidance actions.
• Managed the wind-down, sale and transfer of $10 billion plus of mortgage loans.
• Negotiated the resolution of significant governmental investigations and litigation matters.

Company Description:

• DE Shaw & Co. is a prominent New York hedge fund with over $20 billion of assets under management. DE Shaw teamed up with SunCal Companies, a leading Southern California real estate developer, by investing $500 million of debt and equity across 19 different residential development projects located within the Southern California area. Each of the developments had acquisition and development loans, predominately provided by a local California bank.

Challenges Faced:

• As a result of the rapid decline in the U.S. housing market in 2007, these developments were unable to meet lot sale commitments and development schedules and a majority of the A&D loans were either past due or in covenant default, thereby triggering foreclosure and payment guarantees.

Solutions Provided by SOLIC Professionals:

• Retained by DE Shaw to engineer a successful restructuring of $500 million of debt across 19 different residential development projects.

Result Highlights:

• Successfully renegotiated project loans on each of the 19 communities in order to extend maturities and allow the hedge fund to preserve its equity interests; developed mothball budgets, funded by the equity owners, that aided in the restructuring negotiations and allowed equity stakeholders to retain ownership; and, successfully negotiated consensual resolution with respect to the DE Shaw and SunCal’s payment guarantees on certain developments’ carrying cost.

Company Description:

• Wilton Partners is a Los Angeles based real estate developer, which was awarded the opportunity to redevelop and operate seven buildings (“Oasis”) located over or adjacent to the toll road in and around Chicago. The Toll Highway Redevelopment Project was a $120 million public-private partnership between the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority (“ISTHA”) and Wilton Partners Tollway, LLC.

Challenges Faced:

• Wilton Partners obtained a $85 million loan facility to fund the development of the Project. However, the Company was unable to make principal or interest payments due to extended construction on the Tollways that limited access to the Oases. As a result, walk in traffic fell precipitously and several tenants were forced to default on their monthly lease obligations.

Solutions Provided by SOLIC Professionals:

• SOLIC professionals were retained by the Company to conduct an initial review and assessment of the project’s initial underwriting, review current and historical and current financials, and the achievability of its business financial plan and the associated debt capacity and valuation implications.
• In addition, SOLIC was tasked to assist with the following items:
  • Prepare 13-week cash flow forecast for short term liquidity requirements.
  • Assist with leasing and marketing initiatives to improve monthly rent roll and boost occupancy rates.
  • Develop restructuring scenarios to assist in negotiations with Senior Lender and government entities.
  • Monitor the project’s ongoing activities and provide status reports to equity holders after successful restructuring.

Result Highlights:

• During the course of the engagement, SOLIC professionals negotiated:
  • A debt restructuring with Senior Lender that bifurcated the loan into two pieces, a $50 million current pay loan and a $35 million PIK loan.
  • A restructuring with Illinois State Toll Highway Authority to provide a two-year rent abatement, forgo a full year of outstanding rent for its ground lease and future CAM subsidies, and reduction to monthly reserve requirements in exchange for a percentage of future revenues tied to specific marketing initiatives.
  • Wilton Partners ability to retain ownership without an additional equity investment.
  • Negotiated a new management fee arrangement to incentivize Wilton Partners to revitalize the Project.

Company Description:

• The Ritz-Carlton Residences on Baltimore’s Inner Harbor is a 190-unit luxury condominium development located on Baltimore’s inner harbor with over $215 million of senior secure debt.

Challenges Faced:

• The project had faced significant construction delays, budget overruns, stagnant sales, market compression, and management challenges. As a result, less than 25% of pre-sale contracts closed and multiple buyers demanded their deposits returned. The project had sold less than 10% of its units and the lender group was threatening to terminate construction draws and foreclose on the project. The project had a large lender group that included eight banks, many of which were foreign. In addition, the principals at the real estate firm that purchased the project also had personal guarantees outstanding against the project.

Solutions Provided by SOLIC Professionals:

• Retained by the RXR Realty, Equity Sponsor, to conduct a review and assessment of the project’s underwriting and underlying assumptions.

Result Highlights:

• Developed a set of operating and sales milestones that allowed the Equity Sponsor to retain ownership.
• Negotiated a three-year extension of the senior loan.
• Negotiated a capital budget that permitted a portion of all sales to be returned to the project.

Company Description:

• A major real estate private equity fund with over $15 billion of real estate assets (“the Fund”) comprised of Class A trophy Commercial office towers.

Challenges Faced:

• The Fund experienced a significant decline in the real estate market that led to defaults on a number of real estate loans and discontent among the Fund’s investors.

Solutions Provided by SOLIC Professionals:

• Engaged to assist in the workout of $7 billion of senior and mezzanine debt related to 40+ Class A trophy Commercial office towers in New York, Washington, D.C., Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles.

Result Highlights:

• On behalf of the Fund, led negotiations with major financial institutions in connection with the capital restructuring of such properties, and assisted in developing a restructured relationship between the fund manager and limited partners that allowed limited partners to maximize their recoveries.

Company Description:

• HQ Global Workplaces was the leading provider of executive office space and associated services and was the largest franchisor of executive office suites in the world with revenues in excess of $400 million, senior debt of $244 million, sub-debt of $125 million and preferred equity of $220 million.

Challenges Faced:

• The Company had grown quickly and in an undisciplined manner without adequate financial controls resulting a large number of unprofitable locations, duplicative corporate overhead and challenging client mix. The factors resulted in the Company seeking bankruptcy protection.

Solutions Provided by SOLIC Professionals:

• Represented the senior creditors through a protracted bankruptcy proceeding.
• Assessed the Company’s operating opportunities, including branch rationalizations and lease restructuring opportunities and worked in tandem with management to redesign the organizational structure into an entrepreneurial organization focused on P&L responsibility at the branch level.
• Served as exclusive financial advisor for the sale of the Company.

Result Highlights:

• Resulted in a successful reorganization in which the pre-petition senior lenders equitized their debt to take control of the Company.
• Oversaw a full range of restructuring initiatives including: (i) sale of$20 million of non-core assets; (ii) rejection of 70+ unprofitable leases; (iii) restructuring of over 180 leases on substantially more favorable terms; and (iv) eliminating $30 million in annualized corporate overhead.
• Recruited and selected new management team including CEO, COO, CFO, and EVP of Sales.
• Post-bankruptcy, a SOLIC professional served as Executive Chairman of the Board, and provided oversight to the continuing operating restructuring that resulted in EBITDA improvements (from $2.4 million to $47 million run-rate).
• Negotiated the sale of the Company to Regus LPC for $315 million resulting in significant returns to the stakeholders.

Company Description:

• American Golf Corporation (“AGC”) was the largest operator of public and private golf courses in the U.S., operating in excess of 300 golf courses.

Challenges Faced:

• AGC went into covenant default under its unsecured bank lines as a result of the contraction of the golf industry and unfavorable leases with its affiliated National Golf Properties, a publicly traded REIT.

Solutions Provided by SOLIC Professionals:

• Retained by AGC’s unsecured bank lenders to review the entire AGC portfolio and to assist in maximizing recoveries for its lenders.

Result Highlights:

• Following completion of the underwriting and asset review, SOLIC professionals negotiated a transaction with AGC’s and National Golf Properties’ secured lenders and equity holders pursuant to which AGC’s unsecured bank lenders were paid in full.
• Strategic alternatives developed on behalf of structurally subordinated lenders also resulted in 100% recovery.