MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Castlelake, L.P., a global alternative investment firm specializing in asset-based private credit and experienced ABS issuer, today announced it priced its first commercial real estate collateralized loan obligation (CRE CLO), CLCRE 2026-FL1. CLCRE 2026-FL1 totals approximately $1.1 billion and will be used to finance a diversified pool of commercial real estate loans. The transaction was successfully priced amid disruption in the commercial real estate market driven by a sharp rise in interest rates.
At pricing, the initial collateral pool is comprised of 26 collateral interests secured by 26 commercial properties with an aggregate principal balance of approximately $1.1 billion of floating-rate senior loans. The diversified portfolio includes multifamily and industrial bridge loans as well as hospitality, self-storage and student housing bridge loans.
“This transaction marks Castlelake’s entry into the CRE CLO market and an expansion of our capital markets program into commercial real estate credit, a space Castlelake has been active in for approximately two decades,” said Armin Rothauser, Partner, Capital Markets at Castlelake. “At a time of significant change in the commercial real estate market, we believe the successful issuance of this transaction speaks to Castlelake’s credibility across asset-based finance and the asset-based securitization markets.”
“We see attractive opportunities to provide bridge financing solutions to credible commercial real estate assets as borrowers navigate an evolving lending environment,” said Alan Gearing, Partner, North American Commercial Real Estate at Castlelake. “The portfolio reflects our focus on constructing diversified portfolios underpinned by disciplined underwriting and asset selection.”
CLCRE 2026-FL1 consists of six offered note classes: $636.51 million of Class A Notes rated AAAsf by Fitch and Aaa(sf) by Moody’s; $109.74 million of Class A-S Notes rated AAAsf by Fitch; $79.56 million of Class B Notes rated AA-sf by Fitch; $64.48 million of Class C Notes rated A-sf by Fitch; $38.41 million of Class D Notes rated BBBsf by Fitch; and $19.21 million of Class E Notes rated BBB-sf by Fitch.
With the completion of CLCRE 2026-FL1 and Castlelake Residential Mortgage Trust 2026-RTL1 (CLRES 2026-RTL1), the firm’s first residential mortgage-backed security issued in August 2026, funds and investment accounts managed by Castlelake will have issued approximately $11 billion in ABS across CRE, RMBS, specialty finance and aviation markets since 2014.
