Layla Capital, a direct commercial real estate lender specializing in small to middle-market commercial real estate lending opportunities across the United States, closed its second fund, Layla Fund II. The initial closing includes $50 million in commitments from ultra-high-net worth, family offices and other institutional clients. Fund II is comprised of both new and existing investors for the firm.
Layla’s Fund II has a mandate to invest in domestic senior secured real estate bridge loan opportunities up to $15 million, focusing on core real estate assets, including single-family investment properties, multi-family, mixed-use, retail, industrial, warehouse, prime development sites and other commercial property types. Fund II will leverage Layla’s network of brokers and its advanced lending platform, which has successfully closed nearly 75 deals since the firm’s founding in 2017, with an average loan amount of just over $4 million across the firm’s first two funds.
“We are grateful for the continued support of our existing investors and are excited to welcome so many new partners to the Layla family with the initial closing of our Fund II,” Justin Cooper, founder and managing partner of Layla Capital, said. “In less than 10 years, we have built Layla into a highly trusted direct private commercial real estate lenders, known for our relentless commitment to transparency, reliability, consistency and certainty of execution. As we move toward a final closing of Fund II, we look forward to doubling down on this commitment. We will continue to provide the marketplace with a reliable solution for direct lending that cuts through the red tape and focuses on value creation for all our stakeholders—including investors, brokers and borrowers. This philosophy has greatly contributed to the firm’s performance to date and has led to significant interest in our second fund.”
Layla’s Fund II follows the firm’s inaugural fund, Layla Capital Fund I, which completed its final closing in January 2024 and deployed over $54 million across 12 deals. Fund I has been diversified both geographically and asset-wise, having closed loans across six states and against eight property types.
“The U.S. commercial real estate landscape is more complex than ever, and workable, fast capital solutions are hard to find—which is where we come in,” Max Deibel, partner with Layla Capital, said. “We address this void through significant market and transaction expertise, a partner-centric approach and the latest technology for streamlining the deal process. Importantly, through our deep and diverse broker network, our pipeline of quality deals continues to increase at an impressive rate, enabling us to have key insights into the marketplace for identifying and accessing the right opportunities that drive strong returns. The successful fundraise process for our Fund II is a testament to the consistent performance of our approach and platform, and I want to thank all our investors for their confidence.”
Cooper led the Fund II fundraise while DLA Piper served as their legal counsel. As of June 1, 2025, Layla has nearly $100 million in assets under management.
