Private Credit Through the Cycle: Why Relationships Matter More Than Capital - John Atwater - Co-Founder and Managing Partner - Prime Finance
The Distribution by Juniper SquareShow Notes
Brandon Sedloff sits down with John Atwater to explore the evolution of Prime Finance and the broader dynamics shaping real estate private credit. John shares the story of launching Prime during the Savings and Loan crisis and how periods of market stress often create the best opportunities for disciplined lenders. The conversation traces the growth of Prime into a major platform across CMBS, origination, and special situations while examining how lending businesses are ultimately built around relationships and service. Along the way, they discuss how today’s private credit market compares to past cycles and where the most compelling opportunities may emerge over the next several years.
They discuss: • John Atwater’s career path and the founding of Prime during the Savings and Loan crisis • Why market dislocations often create the best investment opportunities for lenders • How Prime built scale across CMBS, origination, and special situations strategies • Key differences between real estate private credit and corporate private credit markets • Current private credit market dynamics and the outlook for the next five years
Links:
John on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-atwater-89ba1b126/
Prime - https://primefinance.com/
Brandon on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bsedloff/
Juniper Square - https://www.junipersquare.com/
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro (00:02:34) - John Atwater’s career and background (00:12:39) - Starting prime during the S&L crisis (00:17:28) - Why crisis creates opportunity (00:22:42) - Building the Prime finance platform (00:28:04) - Special situations vs origination (00:33:12) - Real estate credit vs corporate private credit (00:40:08) - Current private credit market dynamics (00:43:31) - Outlook for next 5 years (00:50:20) - How to reach prime finance (00:50:42) - Closing remarks
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