NEW YORK, Nov. 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Amherst Capital Management LLC ("Amherst Capital"), a real estate credit investment specialist and BNY Mellon Investment Management ("BNY Mellon") boutique, today announced the addition of two seasoned real estate finance executives to lead the development of its Commercial Real Estate ("CRE") Lending business. Christopher T. Kelly was appointed Head of Commercial Real Estate Lending, and Abbe Franchot was named Head of Originations.

"We are thrilled to announce the launch of our CRE Lending platform and expanded offerings on the alternative side of our business," said Sean Dobson, CEO of Amherst Capital. "Chris and Abbe are exceptional real estate finance professionals and terrific additions to the Amherst Capital team."

As Head of Commercial Real Estate Lending for Amherst Capital, Chris is responsible for leading all facets of the CRE middle-market Lending business, and targeting mortgage investments in all types of commercial and for-rent residential real estate assets. In this role, Chris will oversee the origination and qualification of potential investment opportunities and drive the underwriting process of CRE transactions, including cash flow modeling, asset valuation and debt structuring, additionally, he will provide oversight for Amherst Capital's overall CRE loan portfolio performance and asset quality.

"The ability to participate in the initial growth and development of a new private debt origination business for Amherst Capital with the support of BNY Mellon and Texas Treasury Safekeeping Trust Company presents a unique and compelling opportunity," said Chris Kelly, Head of Commercial Real Estate Lending at Amherst Capital. "We believe that the combination of Amherst Holdings' deep mortgage expertise, proprietary data and analytics with the strength of BNY Mellon's infrastructure, places Amherst Capital in a sector-leading position out of the gate."

Chris has 28 years of experience in real estate debt, mezzanine and equity markets. Prior to joining Amherst Capital, he led the national real estate lending business at CapitalSource, a division of Pacific Western Bank, as a Managing Director and Head of Real Estate. 

As Head of Originations, Abbe will lead a team of originators that will source investment opportunities. Abbe previously worked alongside Chris at CapitalSource, where she was responsible for providing debt solutions to CRE owners and investors nationwide as a senior member of the originations team.

Amherst Capital's CRE Lending team will initially focus on strategies providing interim floating rate debt for property acquisitions or recapitalizations with a value-add or opportunistic investment plan. 

Notes to Editors:

About Amherst Capital Management
Amherst Capital Management is a real estate credit investment specialist with approximately $6.8bn^[1] of assets under management. Amherst Capital was established in 2015 as a majority-owned subsidiary of Standish, a BNY Mellon Investment boutique with a focus on fixed-income, and is minority-owned by Amherst Holdings LLC. Amherst Holdings is not an affiliate of BNY Mellon. Texas Treasury Safekeeping Trust Company is a founding seed investor^[2]. Amherst Capital offers traditional and alternative real estate investment strategies to private and institutional investors globally. Our investment strategies are grounded in deep intellectual capital and one of the world's most robust real estate datasets. For more information please visit www.amherstcapital.com 

About BNY Mellon Investment Management
BNY Mellon Investment Management is one of the world's leading investment management organizations and one of the top U.S. wealth managers, with $1.6 trillion in assets under management. It encompasses BNY Mellon's affiliated investment management firms, wealth management services and global distribution companies. More information can be found at www.bnymellon.com

About BNY Mellon
BNY Mellon is a global investments company dedicated to helping its clients manage and service their financial assets throughout the investment lifecycle. Whether providing financial services for institutions, corporations or individual investors, BNY Mellon delivers informed investment management and investment services in 35 countries and more than 100 markets. As of Sept. 30, 2015, BNY Mellon had $28.5 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration, and $1.6 trillion in assets under management. BNY Mellon can act as a single point of contact for clients looking to create, trade, hold, manage, service, distribute or restructure investments. BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK). Additional information is available on www.bnymellon.com. Follow us on Twitter @BNYMellon or visit our newsroom at www.bnymellon.com/newsroom for the latest company news.

All information source BNY Mellon as of September 30, 2015. This press release is qualified for issuance in the US only and is for information purposes only. It does not constitute an offer or solicitation of securities or investment services or an endorsement thereof in any jurisdiction or in any circumstance in which such offer or solicitation is unlawful or not authorized. This press release is issued by BNY Mellon Investment Management to members of the financial press and media and the information contained herein should not be construed as investment advice.  Past performance is not a guide to future performance.  A BNY Mellon Company.

^[1] As of November 2, 2015, Amherst Capital provides investment advisory services with respect to $6.8 billion assets under management. This amount includes $6bn in assets pertaining to certain discretionary multi-sector fixed income clients of our affiliate Standish Mellon Asset Management Company LLC ("Standish"), for which certain Amherst Capital employees provide advice acting as dual officers of Standish. In addition, discretionary portfolios in the amount of approximately $460mm are managed by certain of our employees in their capacity as dual officers of The Dreyfus Corporation.  Amherst Capital also has $350mm in committed capital.
^[2] It was not known whether the listed clients approve or disapprove of the adviser or the advisory services provided.

Contact: Melissa Cassar
+1 212 635 6038
melissa.cassar@bnymellon.com

SOURCE BNY Mellon