The long-time distress investor talks at ALIS about deploying their first fund and what they see ahead for M&A and performance.
LOS ANGELES – Investor AWH Partners is starting to deploy
its first income fund since its founding in 2010 and Co-Founder Chad Cooley talked
about the group’s evolving strategy in conversation at ALIS last month.
A deal-by-deal investor with a current portfolio of some 30
hotel assets. Cooley said the new fund will target high quality limited-service
or compact full-service assets in strong markets with good brands, low leverage
and strong cash flow profiles. Cooley added that the first investment is in a unique soft-branded Residence
Inn in an affluent California resort market.
In 2026, Cooley sees the deal pendulum slowly swinging back
toward more activity with more credit investors starting to return to the
equity side.
As for performance, he is among the bulls, suggesting comps
will become easier as the year goes on and a believer that the World Cup will
deliver better results than forecast.