RMR Mortgage Trust completes transition to a commercial mortgage REIT

Tom Lorenzini

Newton, Massachusetts-based RMR Mortgage Trust announced that the Securities and Exchange Commission has issued an order granting RMRM’s request to deregister as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Concurrent with the announcement, Thomas J. Lorenzini, based in Chicago, has been appointed president of the firm.

Lorenzini is a vice president of The RMR Group and president of Tremont Mortgage Trust. He is also a vice president of Tremont Realty Advisors LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser and an indirect subsidiary of The RMR Group Inc. (Nasdaq: RMR). Lorenzini has over 25 years of experience in the real estate industry.

The issuance of the Deregistration Order enables RMRM to proceed with full implementation of its new business mandate to operate as a commercial mortgage REIT. As a commercial mortgage REIT, RMRM is focused primarily on originating and investing in first mortgage whole loans secured by middle market and transitional commercial real estate. To date, RMRM has liquidated all of its legacy investment securities and has closed five loans totaling $111.7 million in aggregate commitments.

“We are pleased to reach this key milestone in transitioning RMR Mortgage Trust to a commercial mortgage REIT,” said Adam D. Portnoy, a managing trustee of RMRM and a managing director, president and chief executive officer of The RMR Group. “With RMRM’s deregistration now complete and its legacy portfolio of investment securities liquidated, RMRM is well positioned to execute its business plan to invest in first mortgage whole loans secured by middle market and transitional commercial real estate. Within this new objective, RMRM has already successfully executed on five loans with a combined portfolio value of more than $110 million, and its deal pipeline is strong. We expect RMRM to fully invest its capital during the first half of 2021 and take advantage of leverage to drive increased returns to shareholders.”

RMRM has also entered into a new management agreement with Tremont Realty Advisors LLC to manage RMRM’s day-to-day operations, subject to the oversight and direction of RMRM’s board of trustees. Concurrent with entering this new management agreement, RMRM’s investment advisory agreement with RMR Advisors LLC was terminated. Both RMRM and TRMT are commercial mortgage REITs that are managed by Tremont Realty Advisors LLC.