Benefit Street Partners L.L.C. Announces Closing of a $135 Million Loan Package on The Empire Hotel

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Benefit Street Partners L.L.C. (“BSP” or the “Company”) today announced the closing of a $120 million senior loan and a $15 million mezzanine loan, together aggregating a $135 million loan package, facilitating the refinancing of the Empire Hotel. The Empire Hotel is a 427-key hotel located in the Upper West Side neighborhood of Manhattan, NY. The property was built in 1901 and underwent a comprehensive renovation in 2013.

BSP allocated the loans across its commercial real estate platform, including a portion to Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: FBRT).

Michael Comparato, Head of Commercial Real Estate for BSP, commented: “The Empire Hotel represents a strategic addition to our commercial real estate portfolio, showcasing the flexibility and value that our platform delivers to borrowers. We look forward to capitalizing on additional unique opportunities within the real estate market throughout 2025.”

Further commenting, Brian Buffone, Head of Real Estate Operations at BSP, added: “The borrower signed our application on December 17, 2024. We successfully funded this complicated transaction in 18 business days, further demonstrating the flexibility and responsiveness of the BSP platform.”

About Benefit Street Partners

BSP-Alcentra is a leading global alternative credit asset manager offering clients investment solutions across a broad range of complementary credit strategies, including direct lending, special situations, structured credit, high yield bonds, leveraged loans and commercial real estate debt and equity. As of September 30, 2024, BSP-Alcentra has $77 billion of assets under management, with over 400 employees operating across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. BSP is a wholly owned subsidiary of Franklin Templeton. For further information, please visit www.benefitstreetpartners.com.

About Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: FBRT) is a real estate investment trust that originates, acquires and manages a diversified portfolio of commercial real estate debt secured by properties located in the United States. As of September 30, 2024, FBRT had approximately $6.3 billion of assets. FBRT is externally managed by Benefit Street Partners L.L.C., a wholly owned subsidiary of Franklin Resources, Inc. For further information, please visit www.fbrtreit.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This communication includes forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by phrases such as “will,” “should,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “foresees,” “forecasts,” “estimates” or other words or phrases of similar import. Similarly, any statements herein that describe beliefs, intentions or goals also are forward-looking statements. It is uncertain whether any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do, what impact they will have on the results of operations and financial condition of FBRT. These forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in such forward-looking statements. Further, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future operating results over time, unless required by law.

Our forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to the risks and important factors contained and identified in FBRT’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 and its subsequent filings with the SEC, any of which could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included in this communication are made only as of the date hereof.