Dallas CRE Start-Up is Looking to Lend

A new commercial real estate lender in Dallas is looking for opportunities to make loans nationwide and says it can help banks by recapitalizing their borrowers.

Newport Capital Advisors LLC announced its formation last week.

It is interested in making loans for $3 million to $20 million "across the risk spectrum from first mortgages to subordinate debt" on office, industrial, self-storage and multifamily properties that are producing income.

"Many banks want to deleverage their current portfolio," Newport said. "We can provide capital to borrowers to help with this process."

The company's chief executive officer, Jeffrey Juster, co-founded another Dallas lender with a similar handle, Newport Mortgage Co. LP, which he helped sell to KeyCorp in 2000.

He stayed at the Cleveland banking company for three years after the sale, running its national agency multifamily business, which produced about $1 billion of loans a year.

Since then Juster has worked at Churchill Capital Co. LLC, a Dallas real estate investment and merchant banking firm.