Net Lease Leaders: Christopher Volk

The seventh conversation of the Net Lease Leaders series is now live. Check out the link at the bottom of the page!

Net Lease Leaders shares impactful long-form conversations with executives across the single tenant net lease ecosystem and is presented by the Net Lease Observer.

Christopher Volk is the Chairman of Tenet Equity and a net lease industry legend.

Tenet Equity, backed by Cerberus Capital Management, is a leading direct provider of flexible, long-term capital to middle market companies throughout the U.S. – helping its customers create value through improved capital & asset efficiency.

Chris Volk has been involved in the single tenant net lease ecosystem since the 1980s and has led three firms to the public markets: Franchise Finance Corporation of America; Spirit Finance; and STORE Capital.

Check out Chris’ website:
Chris H. Volk - A Clear And Common Sense Approach To Wealth Generation
Check out Tenet Equity’s website:
Tenet Equity

Chris was an absolute pleasure to spend an hour alongside and provided countless insights from his 40+ year career in our wide-ranging conversation, including:
-Growing up in NYC
-Graduating from college in 1979, majoring in French and history
-Resiliency around sending 300+ cold applications; Selling clothes at Brooks Brothers
-Middle market sale/leaseback: the intersection of real estate and private credit
-Typical net lease deals in the 1980s (funding real estate and FF&E); Tax driven focus
-Moving to Arizona and focusing on the very lower middle market
-Taking FFCA public
-Financing 100% mortgages
-GE’s cost of capital advantage and acquisition of FFCA
-Genesis of Spirit Finance and sector diversification
-Challenges with an investment grade credit rating
-Selling Spirit; Flexibility of the master trust structure (debt as an asset)
-Operating through the GFC, differences in opinion with investors
-Idea for STORE Capital; Profit-center real estate
-Credit migration; Vortex around the BB rating
-Tenet Equity and its focus/team
-Chris’ book: The Value Equation: A Business Guide to Wealth Creation for Entrepreneurs, Leaders and Investors
-The size of the net lease market and net lease as a capital stack tool

Thanks to Chris for spending time to share his background and story!

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