NewcrestImage has launched an ambitious nationwide expansion program of $2 billion in growth by adding two veteran lodging and finance executives to its C-suite who have a proven record of raising substantial private equity funds and managing high-value, high-performance investment portfolios.
Effective July 1, David Perel and Caroline Lerner Perel joined NewcrestImage as Chief Investment Officer (CIO) and Chief Development Officer (CDO) respectively. They both report to Mehul Patel, Chairman and CEO of the company, and they both join the company’s executive team, which will now consist of eight people.
Mr. and Ms. Perel come to NewcrestImage from Civitas Capital Group, where David served as Managing Director and head of Lodging Investments, while Caroline was a former Managing Director on the lodging team. The Perels joined Civitas in 2013 through the sale of their company, Juno Development, to Civitas.
At NewcrestImage, Mr. Perel’s primary responsibility is to raise and invest $250 million in equity with both institutional and non-institutional sources for investment within the lodging sector.
Ms. Perel’s primary responsibility is to aggressively evaluate and recommend appropriate investment opportunities, specifically through acquisition of existing properties, new-build projects, and adaptive re-use of historic buildings.
“Our company is ready to move to the next level of hotel achievement – from being an accomplished, respected leader in the south and southwestern regions to becoming a coast-to-coast force in our industry,” explains Mehul Patel. “We will now offer investors a unique opportunity to benefit from our proven record and reputation for creating long-term value.”
“David and Caroline become the tip of our spear for this vital mission with their sophisticated, specialized skills combined with their extensive network of contacts among investors, bankers, and brands,” adds Patel.
Currently, NewcrestImage owns and operates 28 distinctive hotels in three states – Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. It has another 15 properties under construction or in development, including projects in Arizona, Ohio, and Oregon.
According to Patel, expansion priorities for NewcrestImage include new-build development and value-add acquisitions from coast to coast, especially in high barrier to entry markets.
During the past 10 years, Mr. Perel has been involved in raising and investing more than $300 million of hotel development and acquisitions. He has also been a key advisor on several large, complex hotel development, acquisition, and sale transactions, and he has successfully managed and optimized value for both multi-asset portfolios and individual projects.
Prior to his lodging career, Mr. Perel spent 10 years in investment banking, closing more than 100 advisory and capital transactions with a cumulative value of more than $10 billion. His experience included serving as co-head of the Healthcare Investment Banking Group at ABN Amro US.
He earned his MBA at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and his undergraduate degree in finance and accounting at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. He was formerly a licensed CPA in the state of New York.
Ms. Perel has more than 25 years of lodging experience. While at Civitas, she led the development of 12 hotels, including several notable dual-brand hotels. She also led all of the company’s asset management within the lodging sector.
Immediately prior to joining Civitas and while leading Juno Development, she acted as advisor to a large private equity firm in the purchase and repositioning of more than $250 million in hotel assets. She also led development of the Joule Hotel, a redevelopment of seven individual properties into a luxury mixed-use property in Dallas.
Ms. Perel has held senior positions with Philips Hotel Group; TravelClick; and Fairmont Hotels. She was involved in several major development projects, including the Shore Club in South Beach and the Bryant Park Hotel in New York City.
Her hospitality career began in operations at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City after she earned an undergraduate degree at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration with a dual major in strategic planning and finance.
“Our style at NewcrestImage is to evaluate vigorously and with vision, then proceed responsibly with conviction and determination,” adds Mehul Patel. “With this new nationwide expansion initiative, we will move into many new markets to create showcase properties where guests can build memories, our employees can build a career, and our investment partners can build value.”
NewcrestImage has earned a reputation for ingenuity, for example, by developing large hotel campuses that feature multiple hotel properties immediately adjacent to each other. Among its campus projects are a 300-room, three-hotel development in Amarillo, Texas; a 900-room, four-hotel development in Frisco, Texas; and a six-hotel development in Grapevine, Texas.
In addition, the company has repeatedly won industry awards and accolades for its creative make-over of historic locations into prestigious, one-of-a-kind hotels — such as for its AC-Residence Inn dual-brand property in downtown Dallas; its SpringHill Suites and TownePlace Suites dual-brand in New Orleans; and its Courtyard by Marriott in downtown Amarillo.
“Our company has a rich record of turning exceptional ideas into exceptional properties,” concludes Mehul Patel. “Now we are ready to build much, much further – build with bricks, stone, and glass but as importantly, build with confidence in our people, our industry, and our country.”
