RiverOak Investment Corp., LLC launches Urban Retail Investment Fund

Following upon the success of the company's recently established $150 million joint venture of investment capital from a consortium of off-shore institutional investors, RiverOak Investment Corp., LLC has launched a new fund called RiverOak Urban Retail Investors Fund I, with a capital target of $300 million. Stephen DeNardo, CEO of RiverOak Investment Corp., made the announcement. The fund's strategic focus will be primarily in repositioning urban mixed use retail real estate, located in 24-hour central business districts with favorable demographic growth. The fund's leadership has a demonstrated national expertise in repositioning middle market sized retail mixed-use assets to create value. Lianne Merchant, a partner at RiverOak Investment Corp., will be leading the capital raising initiatives on behalf of the fund. She has extensive experience raising investment capital from large institutions including corporate pension funds, public pension funds, foundations and endowments. She was previously a placement agent at Park Hill Real Estate Group, an affiliate of the Blackstone Group. and before that head of investor relations for iStar Financial. "The combination of a slowly recovering economy and the revaluation of high street retail properties in these demographically strong and growing markets makes this an ideal time for the launch of RiverOak Urban Retail Investors Fund I," said Ms. Merchant. "Institutional investors are currently looking for emerging managers such as RiverOak to identify and capitalize on reasonably priced, quality assets at this opportune time in the real estate cycle." Headquartered in Stamford, CT, RiverOak Investment Corp., LLC manages niche-focused real estate investments for institutional entities that are strategically driven, including private and public pension funds, family offices, endowments and foundations. RiverOak's business model creates a competitive advantage for its investors by bringing institutional experience to a traditionally entrepreneurial model and using a targeted solution methodology. "We have significant experience with complex transactions requiring post acquisition repositioning where operating results and cash flow can be improved," said George Yerrall, RiverOak's partner and Chief Investment Officer. "We believe that urban retail projects offer significant opportunity for return on investment as the economy improves, and we are targeting markets that are poised to perform well in even the most challenging environment."