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This week, Anthony Coniglio, president and CEO of NewLake Capital Partners, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss the obstacles cannabis operators face and how he provides real estate capital to state-licensed cannabis operators.
NewLake Capital Partners is an internally managed real estate investment trust that helps cannabis operators fund build-to-suit projects. The company owns some 31 cultivation facilities and dispensaries that are leased to single tenants.
Anthony Coniglio has made a career finding gaps in financial services, and cannabis is well-underserved when it comes to real estate capital. Coniglio admits that he didn't understand the industry until he took the time to do some research, and it opened his eyes as he spoke with operators as well as friends and family who benefited from the plant.
NewLake helps cannabis operators with a couple of different opportunities. For example, suppose an operator owns a property and wants to sell it to gain access to the capital invested in it but wants to continue operating in the property. In that case, NewLake will acquire the building and lease it back to the former owner with long-term 15- to 20-year leases. Coniglio says a lot of capital in this industry is tied up in property assets.
NewLake also performs build-to-suit transactions in which they acquire a site on behalf of an operator, provide the capital for the construction and lease it for up to 20 years.
Jump around:
- His initial cannabis fact-finding mission. (3:27)
- How NewLake works with cannabis operators as a real estate investment trust (REIT). (4:57)
- The lack of capital availability in the cannabis industry. (6:59)
- The risk of owning cannabis-related property. (8:29)
- When cannabis operators are looking for capital. (9:48)
- Opportunities in limited license states. (11:35)
- What is a triple-net (NNN) lease? (21:04)
- How will the real estate market change if cannabis is rescheduled. (22:09)
- The lack of progress in cannabis banking. (26:53)
- Bringing a new level of professionalism to the industry. (28:02)
- The mixed success of social equity program. (29:25)
- Predictions for federal legalization. (34:15)
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at [email protected].
