WASHINGTON: Pacific Century Holdings Inc., a strategic partner for legalized cannabis operators and investors, today announced the opening of a $50 million real estate investment fund, PCH Fund 1, an investment vehicle capitalizing upon the scarcity of real estate assets for the cannabis industry.
The cannabis industry is poised for significant growth but continues to experience a lack of traditional capital due to disparities in federal and state law. As a result, leasing or acquiring property for marijuana operations is complex, limited and hard to obtain. PCH Fund 1 was established to capitalize on this demand by acquiring, owning and managing specialized agricultural, industrial and retail properties for lease by experienced owners of state-regulated cannabis businesses.
PCH Fund 1 provides investors a unique, geographically diversified portfolio of high value commercial real estate assets. In addition to their value for legalized cannabis businesses based on a current limited supply, properties will be selected based on their potential for strong performance as traditional commercial real estate assets. This will ensure their value continues as the cannabis market matures and the availability of real estate more closely matches industry demand.
To insure proper risk mitigation, the fund is operated by a management team with an expert understanding of local regulations, investment opportunities associated with this market, and deep seeded relationships with compliant cannabis operators. The team is led by Tony Repanich, president and chief executive officer, and Justin Braune, chief business development officer. During his 22-year tenure at Bellingham, WA-based Peoples Bank, Repanich helped grow assets from less than $200 million to nearly $1.6 billion. Braune is a licensed Real Estate Broker in California and was president of MJIC Inc., a diversified operating company in the legal cannabis industry, where he focused on real estate acquisitions.
“We developed a fund strategy that allows investors to take full advantage of the current exponential growth in the cannabis industry, and enables operators to build and develop successful businesses,” said Repanich. “We believe this two-fold approach provides a good platform for outperforming traditional real estate returns. We have assembled a team of industry experts to make prudent capital allocations and manage assets within this complex and rapidly evolving market.”