Global real estate firm Brightshore Capital, formerly known as GTIS Partners, has launched its first real estate debt investment platform with an initial capital of $250 million at a time when homebuilders’ financing needs are mounting. The launch of Brightshore Credit comes amid elevated building costs and high interest rates, as well as a wall of debt maturities coming due. That creates pressure points for developers looking for support, Brightshore Capital founder and President Tom Shapiro said in an interview.

We certainly see growing the platform to several billion dollars, but we’re solely focused right now, not on raising more capital, but doing a really good job investing the current capital that we have,” Shapiro said. The $250 million can be stretched to larger deals by selling senior notes, potentially supporting more than $1 billion of transactions, Shapiro added. Large asset managers including Blackstone Inc. have also pushed into the market with a lending platform for homebuilders. Last year, Apollo Global Management Inc. launched Olympus Housing Capital to provide builders with money to buy and prepare land for construction.

Founded in 2005, Brightshore has $5.6 billion in assets under management, with a focus on residential and industrial investments in the US and residential, industrial, office and hospitality investments in Brazil, according to its website. The New York-based Brightshore has invested about $1.5 billion in debt through different vehicles, according to Shapiro. The difference is that this time it has a dedicated debt vehicle that will focus on origination and high-yield credit including stretch senior, mezzanine financings, preferred equity and B-notes.

When we look at an overall deal, we try to figure out where we want to play in the capital stack,” he said. Shapiro breaks down the real estate market into multiple pieces and by geography. One attractive market is San Francisco, he said, citing improved conditions on the back of Mayor Daniel Lurie’s efforts to curb crime and boost the availability of mental health treatment to reduce homelessness. Brightshore bought about a dozen apartment buildings in San Francisco over the past six months, he said. In June, it acquired The Wilson, a 67-unit apartment in the city’s So Ma, or the “South of Market Street” neighborhood.

We very much want to be in the equity in San Francisco because we believe in the upside of where that is,” Shapiro said. “San Francisco is in a massive recovery right now.”Elsewhere, Shapiro pointed to oversupplied Sunbelt markets such as Austin where properties coming out of lease-up, or new developments that have reached full occupancy, may need to refinance construction debt at much higher interest rates. Lower rents and higher operating costs are also putting stress on some projects, leaving deals in need of recapitalization, he said. Brightshore’s re-branding follows the 2025 buyout of Golden Tree Asset Management, its minority partner, and reflects its new structure as a fully partner-owned investment firm. The leadership remains unchanged.