Blackfort partners with Archistar to deliver technology-enabled real estate

SYDNEY, April 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Commercial real estate lender Blackfort has announced a partnership with property intelligence platform Archistar to streamline and innovate the loan process for real estate development. The partnership will allow Blackfort to provide instant access and certainty of funding for smaller and mid-size developers to secure sites for development.

Blackfort is an AI-led real estate lender, which services the $1.5million to $20million commercial real estate loan market, which to-date is a segment that remains neglected by existing lenders and brokers.

Blackfort is excited to further their impact on the market through a strategic partnership with Archistar, which is already used and trusted by architects, planners, developers and agents in Australia and internationally, including in the United States, New Zealand and Canada.

Archistar's software gives instant information on the type of residential projects allowable on any development site, based on local planning and zoning rules. It allows professionals to create and assess hundreds of compliant 3D generative designs, exploring features like height restrictions, exposure to sunlight and ventilation. Its clients span the public and private sectors, and include the likes of Mirvac, Ernst & Young, Brookfield, JLL and government agencies.

As a result of the partnership, Blackfort will have access to data insights typically only available to the top-end of the market through Archistar's propriety deal assessment engine. Archistar's technology can assess site feasibility and profitability instantly, while Blackfort can simultaneously provide an automated loan assessment.

The Blackfort product, which will be launched in Australia within the next three months and in New Zealand late next year, will result in faster decision-making and facilitate a conditional, instant 'yes' for loan applications with lower overheads and customer acquisition costs. Blackfort and Archistar have already deployed AU$50 million with volume builder Simonds and a select number of smaller developers as part of a pilot for rapid funding for site acquisition.

The product will launch with an initial 8.5% rate for site acquisition, available exclusively for Archistar subscribers.

Prabhat Sethi, former Managing Director of Murdoch Media and chairman of Blackfort said: "Blackfort's platform has the potential to revolutionise an often-neglected segment of the commercial real estate debt market. In collaboration with Archistar, Blackfort will assist developers acquiring sites and ensure rapid deployment of funds. This partnership will modernise the sector by creating speedier and safer decision making."

Dr Benjamin Coorey, Co-Founder and CEO of Archistar said: "We are very pleased to partner with Blackfort to further service the property development sector. We are excited about the product that will rapidly deploy loans to developers in a segment that has been underserviced by banks and other lenders."

"On a global scale, our vision is to revolutionise the way developers assess, design and build properties, and the partnership with Blackfort is a natural step to improving the end-to-end process".

Rhett Simonds, Executive Chairman of Simonds Group said: "It is great to see Blackfort to continue partnering with companies to bring innovation into the property sector. As a leading home builder that has been constructing since 1949, we understand the importance of home ownership to Australians. Blackfort came to the table when others couldn't, and we look forward to continuing our partnership." 

About Blackfort: Blackfort is a revolutionary real estate lender, that focuses on the $1.5million to $20million loan segment in the commercial real estate debt market. The company uses AI-led decision making to rapidly deploy loan assessments to enable confident and rapid decision making. The company is led by a world-class executive management team, chaired by former Managing Director of Murdoch Media Prabhat Sethi.

About Archistar: Founded by Dr. Benjamin Coorey, a global expert in 3D generative design, Archistar is the world's leading digital platform for the Property Industry. The platform combines architectural design with artificial intelligence to inform decision-making in property and is used by agents, developers, architects, government planners and homeowners nationwide. Since launching in 2018, Archistar has grown rapidly, listed by the AFR as the 20th fastest growing company in Australia, with notable clients including Mirvac, Ernst & Young, Brookfield and JLL.