Our Story

With decades of experience and a family-office mindset, Aries Capital has delivered creative solutions for real estate sponsors and investors across the country.

Our Founder

Neil Freeman

Neil Freeman

Chairman

The Freeman Family is a pioneer in Southwest Florida, having owned, developed and disposed of thousands of acres of land over nearly a century.

Mr. Freeman founded Aries Capital in 1991 with the objective of providing boutique capital advisory services to lower- and middle-market real estate firms. The Firm was also formed to be Mr. Freeman’s family office and execute on long-term investment strategies focused on capital growth and preservation.

Through founding the Urban Development Fund, Mr. Freeman is responsible for executing on one of the most successful New Markets Tax Credit programs. The Urban Development Fund has executed on over $1 Billion of tax credit real estate transactions across hospitality, mixed-use properties, retail development and more.

Mr. Freeman, through Aries Capital, has closed in excess of $8 Billion in debt and equity transactions across all property types in the United States and Caribbean.

Who We Are

Aries Capital blends the discretion of a family office with the expertise of a boutique capital advisor, focused on lasting relationships and aligned capital solutions.

Company History

1991
Aries Capital is founded by Neil Freeman.
1993
Aries becomes one of the first originators of Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities (CMBS) and closes over $2B in transactions over the next decade.
1996
Aries opens an office for the largest Fannie Mae DUS lender, producing over $100 million in loans annually.
1999
Aries deploys over $40M as a principal lender.
2002
Aries’ affiliate, the Urban Development Fund (UDF), receives a $15M allocation from the U.S. Treasury as part of the New Markets Tax Credits program.
2007
Aries closes over $300M in debt and tax credit financing.
2011
Aries leads the CMBS rebirth through the origination of one of the top ten loans in the $715M JP Morgan / Ladder Capital CMBS securitization.
2015
Brandon Perdeck joins the Aries platform to expand the firm’s originations platform.
2020
Aries forms a hospitality joint venture to offer a beginning-to-end hotel receivership platform for lenders affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic.
2021
Aries extends its family office and private equity practice footprint to the West Coast.
2022
Josh Strelzik joins the Aries platform to elevate the firm’s family office investment practice and OCIO offerings.
1H 2025
Devon Stoloff joins the Aries platform to lead equity capital markets for the capital advisory and family office practices.
2H 2025
Aries formally launches its Strategic Investing vertical, backed by its family office, to increase equity deployment into niche, opportunistic investments.