Steve Stuart, a former executive at Fortress Investment Group’s real estate division, has joined Ares Management as managing director. Stuart left Fortress earlier this year after more than 20 years with the firm, where he led teams focused on credit and real estate business development.
At Ares, Stuart will work to expand the company’s commercial real estate debt operations. He announced his new position in a LinkedIn post and is collaborating with Bryan Donohoe, who leads the U.S. debt team at Ares Real Estate.
During his time at Fortress, Stuart was known for taking on large and sometimes risky lending deals. One notable transaction was Fortress’s $1.2 billion loan that helped Harry Macklowe acquire 7 million square feet of office space from Blackstone Group in 2007. In that deal, Macklowe contributed $50 million of his own funds and secured an additional $5.8 billion from Deutsche Bank.
“But both [Fortress’ Steve] Stuart and Macklowe knew that Fortress was one of the very few players who might consider it,” wrote Adam Piore in “The New Kings of New York.”
Ares Management is based in Los Angeles and manages over $108 billion in real estate assets globally. As of June, its U.S. real estate debt business oversaw $14 billion in assets under management.
Recent activity by Ares includes acquiring a majority interest in Manhattan’s 525 West 52nd Street—valued at $270 million—and supporting a $1.8 billion portfolio deal involving 100 shopping center properties (https://www.perenews.com/ares-management-backs-1-8bn-us-shopping-centre-portfolio/).
Both Ares Management and Steve Stuart declined to comment on the move.
