Faes & Co is an investment firm focused on providing investors with consistent, stable, asset-backed returns. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Faes & Co CEO Christian Faes to learn more about the firm.
Christian Faes’ Background
What is Christian Faes’ background? Faes said:
“I originally grew up in Australia and studied law after high school. I practiced law in Australia and the UK, but I think I was always an entrepreneur at heart and wanted to start a business. I moved back to Australia and set up my first real business, which was a law firm, that ended up acting for a number of small mortgage lenders. That was my initial introduction to the mortgage business, and I found it a lot more interesting being on that side of the table, actually doing the deals, than being the lawyer documenting them after they were essentially agreed! So, I set up a small mortgage lender in Australia, but was always keen to get back to London – which is a city that I love, and thought there was a great opportunity there.”
“In 2008 I moved back to the UK and set up what would become LendInvest. I spent the better part of 13 years building that business from a very scrappy start-up through to being one of the largest non-bank mortgage lenders in the UK that has institutional backing from a vast range of investors such as HSBC, Lloyds Bank, and JP Morgan. We IPO’d the business in 2021 on the London Stock Exchange, and this allowed me to step back from the business and I moved to the US.”
“I’ve always been keen to build a business in the US, and it’s great to be building our firm in such a big market and starting with a blank sheet of paper again. We are really getting things right very early with this business, and it’s very enjoyable to be scaling a business again.”
Evolution Of Faes & Co’s Thesis
How has your firm’s thesis evolved over time? Faes noted:
“Our firm’s thesis is quite straightforward. We are a firm that is focused on (a) ‘building lending businesses’; and (b) we have a private credit fund that provides lending capital to the lending businesses that we build. We are building a firm that are experts in originating, underwriting, and funding private credit opportunities.”
Favorite Memory
What has been your favorite memory working for your firm so far? Faes reflected:
“As I’m sure most entrepreneurs would attest, there is a palpable thrill in building a business, and watching your efforts and the hard work of your team is addictive. With this, it’s challenging to identify one specific memory, though I can say being in the trenches with the team as a whole is a combined memory that I hold close. I am really enjoying this business, especially as it’s the 4th lending business that I’ve been actively hands-on with building. You get the feeling that you finally kind of know what you’re doing!”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of your firm’s most significant milestones? Faes cited:
“Despite being relatively young, our firm successfully launched its flagship private credit fund in the first year, which has generated great momentum with investors. We’ve also brought on board our first institutional investor, Triple Point, an asset manager that has over $4.7 billion in funds under management. I have personally worked with this investor for the better part of the last 10 years, and we have a great working relationship. It’s been humbling to have such great investors follow me to the US and be a part of our growing firm.”
Differentiation From Other Firms
What differentiates your firm from other firms? Faes emphasized:
“One of the key differentiators for our firm is the breadth and depth of experience we have in working in our relatively niche area of private credit, which is in real estate bridging finance. We have been working in the real estate bridging finance sector for nearly 20 years, with a team built on a unique mix of expertise and experience and have created and operated a multitude of businesses in Australia, the UK, Ireland, Spain, and now the US. Our team has an unrivaled level of global experience in the asset class, which continues to resonate with our investors.”
Challenges Faced
What challenges have Faes and the team faced in building the company? Faes acknowledged:
“It goes without saying that developing a successful business from the ground up is always hard. Now add in building the company in a new country, which requires learning a new market dynamic and regulatory environment. While this has been a challenge, the reality is that the US market is so big that the difficulty of working through these challenges is very rewarding. I think that as an experienced entrepreneur, you develop a real tenacity to just keep going even when things seem complex or particularly difficult. We have established our firm in the US market, and are now scaling our fund and lending platforms, and it’s been a great experience getting the business off the ground.”
Future Goals
What are some of your firm’s future goals? Faes concluded:
“As a firm we are only just getting started. In the years ahead, we’re going to build a global conglomerate of direct lending platforms and a suite of private credit funds that provide investors with a consistent, stable and asset-backed return. Our team is in this for the long haul, and we’re excited to build upon this foundation for this vision.”
