Herbert J. Sims & Co., Inc.

Benchmark I

sims provides equity for assisted living acquisition

Herbert J. Sims & Co. (through its affiliate HJ Sims Investments, LLC) provided preferred equity to Benchmark Equity 2004, LLC. Over the past year, Benchmark Equity 2004 and its institutional partners have acquired 25 existing senior housing communities consisting of 2,463 units of independent living, assisted living, and Alzheimer’s care. The facilities are located in all six New England states. Benchmark Equity 2004 is an entity managed by Benchmark Assisted Living, the largest owner-operator of service-enhanced senior housing in New England and has a geographic focus on the Northeast corridor from Boston to Washington, D.C.

Sims, through its high net worth client base, provided the capital to Benchmark. The equity raised by Sims, together with funds invested by Benchmark key principals and Board members, is being used to meet Benchmark’s funding commitments with its institutional partners. This structure was attractive to Benchmark for several reasons: (1) since the investment is made directly by a Sims’ controlled entity, it allowed Benchmark to access Sims’ extensive high net worth client base without having to deal with a number of third-party investors; (2) the arrangement is open-ended so that additional capital can be raised and invested through the Sims controlled entity to fund Benchmark’s share of future acquisitions; and (3) the execution of the transaction was efficient since Sims was able to complete all due diligence, underwriting and close in under 60 days.

Direct equity investments with reputable providers such as Benchmark are the latest example of Sims using its extensive retail client base to provide equity and debt capital to senior housing providers. Sims excels in filling the niches that allow an owner or developer to complete a transaction by providing creative financing such as preferred equity, mezzanine debt or bridge financing.