Spotlight On: Gus Katsadouros, Founder & Managing Partner, Osprey Capital

Key points:

• • Higher interest rates and oversupply are slowing parts of the commercial real estate market.
• • Student housing, medical, and single-tenant retail remain strong sectors for investment.
• • Gus Katsadouros says quality projects and partners continue attracting capital in Tampa Bay.

May 2026 — In an interview with Invest:, Gus Katsadouros, founder and managing partner of Osprey Capital, discussed the commercial real estate finance landscape, the impact of higher interest rates on development activity, and the firm’s approach to supporting owners and developers. “At the end of the day, we want to make quality investments with quality people, get a nice return, and do it again,” Katsadouros said.

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What changes over the past year have impacted Osprey Capital and the commercial real estate finance sector?

While we are in the commercial real estate finance sector, most would put us in the private credit versus private equity space. We provide bridge loans, mezzanine loans, and preferred equity investments for middle market real estate owners and developers. We fund our transactions with capital from our high net worth investors that have been our partners over the past 15 years. We are a hybrid between the banks providing the debt and the developers providing the equity.

Commercial real estate has seen challenges over the last three years, mostly driven by higher interest rates, global factors such as wars and oil prices, excess supply in multifamily and industrial, and a possible decline in consumer spending. We are experiencing a reset in commercial real estate in valuation that will likely be resolved over the next year. We have clearly exited the time of very low cost of capital but do not know the reset basis when it comes to valuations.

How would you characterize the market environment across commercial real estate sectors?

The industry has faced challenges because of valuations. Up until 2022, values in commercial real estate were going up, and a lot of that was driven by demand and low interest rates. Since then, there has been softness across the industry, much of it driven by higher interest rates and oversupply.

Housing continued to move forward because there was still demand, although less demand than what we have seen over the past 10 years. In the Tampa Bay market, we did have two major hurricanes that impacted our region. The combination of higher interest rates and major storm events affected the speed of recovery.

We have had tremendous growth for the last 15 years, and we finally had a small correction that we are working through now.

Student housing has done extremely well and single-tenant retail as well. Medical has also performed very strongly.

What does recent deal flow tell you about emerging opportunities in Tampa Bay?

Recent opportunities are less across the board, which means we are all listening to the market. Developers are slowing down, and apartment developers are not delivering product until the market absorbs what is already there.

There has been a slowdown across the board, but if a credit tenant wants a building, it will get built. If the University of Tampa needs student housing and the demand is there, developers are ready to build tomorrow. It is a supply-and-demand correction, and market participants, including us, are backing away and letting the market absorb inventory before activity picks back up.

You are still seeing development in key markets like Sarasota, St. Petersburg, and Tampa. Real estate is all about buying at the right price, building at the right price, and having the income stream to support the valuation.

How are financing needs evolving among middle-market developers and owners?

The banks are back in the market, and we are fortunate in Tampa and the Southeast to have all the major national banks here. They are prepared to finance quality investments. On the equity front, there are plenty of high-net-worth groups like ours that will support quality investments.

What has not fully come back yet is institutional equity, although activity is starting to pick back up. If you have a quality investment, there is plenty of capital in the marketplace.

In our world, the middle market is typically a $10 million to $100 million development. We typically play in the $5 million to $20 million investment range, which means the projects are usually $10 million to $100 million in total capitalization.

There is ample capital for quality investments. The hesitancy is in sectors where the market was overbuilt. People are listening to the market and are not starting new projects until supply and demand balance out, but they are teeing up projects to be ready when the market absorbs the supply.

How are you approaching talent and the next generation of leadership at Osprey Capital?

Our company is mostly made up of experienced, quality bankers. We all came from banking, with a couple of exceptions. We are an add-on to the bank, and we are not developers.

Last year, I brought on a core group of people who are capable of taking us into the next generation, and hopefully they will continue to bring on people to do that. They are experienced, high-caliber people.

How do you see Osprey Capital contributing to long-term growth in Tampa Bay?

We plan to continue doing what we have always done, which is support quality developers and quality owners by providing additional capital. We are not going to be a perfect fit for everybody.

We are an alternative to using all equity or more debt. Typically, the higher leverage you put on an asset, the more risk you take. We plan to continue being a quality capital partner.

I am always appreciative of the opportunity to participate in an investment.

What are Osprey Capital’s key goals and priorities over the next two to three years?

The priority is to continue doing what we have always done. First, we need to take care of the investments we already have and make sure those get the attention they need, and focus on asset management.

Second, we want to continue finding quality investments with the core group of investors, developers, and owners we have been talking to for more than 15 years.

Finally, we want to provide a very nice return for our investors.

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