Lakemore Partners

Lakemore Partners

Lakemore Partners launched in 2016 under Andrew Kaufmann, who brought structured-finance and private-credit experience from previous roles to build a firm that originates, underwrites, and manages portfolios of bespoke loans. The firm operates from Scottsdale with additional offices in London and Abu Dhabi, giving it origination and asset-management coverage across the US, Europe, and the Middle East. Kaufmann's team constructs its portfolio around credit-intensive real estate situations and special-situation corporate lending, typically filling gaps left by retreating regional banks and syndicated-loan desks. The strategy centers on private credit — primarily floating-rate senior secured loans, mezzanine debt, and preferred equity — where Lakemore acts as a non-bank balance-sheet lender. The firm has deployed over $4 billion cumulatively, according to its own communications, sourcing deals through a network of brokers, sponsors, and restructuring advisors that generates off-market and lightly intermediated opportunities. Geographic reach spans the United States, the United Kingdom, and continental Europe, with growing exposure to Gulf Cooperation Council real estate transactions routed through the Abu Dhabi office. Typical positions involve real estate bridge financing, transitional residential and commercial properties, and corporate rescue capital. Rather than relying on fund-of-funds structures, Lakemore runs dedicated closed-end vehicles and managed accounts for institutional investors and family offices — a structure that keeps deployment pace aligned with discrete fund vintages. While Lakemore does not disclose total assets under management, its cumulative deployment figure and geographic footprint imply an active book above $2.5 billion (Altss estimate). The Scottsdale headquarters handles portfolio management and risk; London covers European origination; Abu Dhabi services the Middle Eastern investor base and local deal flow. In September 2024, Kaufmann spoke at the SuperReturn Private Credit conference on the widening role of non-bank lenders in real estate capital stacks (per the firm, September 2024). The firm's team size is not publicly disclosed, but its three-office structure and fund-family complexity suggest a mid-sized institutional-grade operation rather than a sub-scale boutique. The structural differentiator is Lakemore's twin focus on real estate bridge lending and corporate special situations under one roof — an approach that lets it reallocate capital between property-secured and cash-flow-dependent credits as cycles shift. Most private credit managers commit to one or the other. Lakemore's UK and UAE regulatory footprint also gives it a sourcing channel into sterling- and dirham-denominated transactions that dollar-centric US credit shops rarely access, creating a multi-currency book that can diversify both rate exposure and sponsor relationships.