Empire Capital Holdings

What Empire Capital Holdings does

Empire Capital Holdings (legal entity ECRE LLC) is a New York-based private partnership founded in 2004 by Arash "Josh" Rahmani and Ebi Khalili that operates as an alternative asset manager with two business lines: Commercial Real Estate and Venture Capital. The CRE division structures acquisitions, joint ventures, preferred equity, bridge lending, and non-performing loan purchases across office, multifamily, retail, hotels, and development sites in top-tier U.S. markets (Manhattan primary, plus Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, Miami/South Florida, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Chicago, Minneapolis, and Texas). The Venture Capital division invests in early-stage and growth companies in education, communications, real estate analytics, PropTech, and modern hospitality. The firm has participated in over $6 billion of cumulative real estate transactions across principal and advisory capacities.

The firm generates revenue through property appreciation, rental income, transaction fees, and equity participation on co-investments. Its go-to-market is relationship-driven: a 1-10 person partnership originating deals through direct outreach to institutional investors (Blackstone, Goldman Sachs, Invesco, RXR, Oaktree, Deutsche Bank, Silverstein), family offices, and HNW individuals, supplemented by the VCPRE Korean Debt platform (over $1 billion raised) as a differentiated cross-border capital channel. No proprietary technology platform, AI/ML systems, or recurring revenue product is publicly disclosed; the offering is bespoke deal structuring rather than a scalable product. The team includes C-suite (CFO Isabel Rahmani, COO/Partner Aaron Bergman, CTO Walee Ahmed), capital markets leadership (Joseph Soufeh, Jaewoo Chung), and functional directors for acquisitions (Sam Khazaei) and leasing (Nick Berger, joined 2024 from Newmark via The Moinian Group). Affiliates include Venture Capital Properties (investment sales brokerage), VCPRE (Korean debt platform), and Think Empire.

Name

Empire Capital Holdings

Legal name

ECRE LLC

Website

https://empirecapitalholdings.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Empire Capital Holdings is a New York-based private partnership that invests in commercial real estate (office, multifamily, retail, hotels, NPLs) across top-tier U.S. markets and early-stage technology companies, serving institutional investors, family offices, and high-net-worth individuals through relationship-driven deal origination.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394), Other Financial Investment Activities (5239), Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)

SIC

Investors, Nec (6799), Real Estate Dealers (For Their Own Account) (6532), Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211)

akta.pro primary industry

Equity Capital Advisory (Private Equity Placements, Growth Capital) (BPAHAOAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Capital Markets Advisory (Equity Placement, JV & Recapitalization) (BPAJABAL), Institutional Capital Introduction (LP/Family Office/Endowment Matching) (FSAEALAI), Capital Raising Advisory (Debt/Equity/Private Capital) (BPAHADAG)

Keywords

• Commercial real estate investing
• Alternative asset management
• Venture capital investments
• Joint venture equity
• Real estate acquisitions

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Commercial Real Estate Investment Management: Generates returns through acquisition, development, and management of commercial real estate assets across multiple asset classes including office, retail, multifamily, hotels, and development sites. Revenue derived from property appreciation, rental income, and transaction fees.
2. Joint Venture Equity Participation: Participates as equity partner in joint venture opportunities, providing capital for real estate acquisitions and developments in exchange for ownership stakes and profit participation.
3. Private Equity / Venture Capital Investments: Invests in early-stage and growing companies in technology and innovation sectors, with focus on education, communications, real estate analytics, PropTech, and modern hospitality concepts. Returns generated through equity appreciation and potential exit events.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Empire Capital Holdings is a private alternative asset management firm that acquires, develops, and manages commercial real estate assets across multiple asset classes (office, residential, retail, hotels, non-performing loans, development sites) in top-tier U.S. markets, and invests in early-stage venture capital opportunities in education, communications, PropTech, and hospitality. The firm generates returns through property appreciation, rental income, joint venture equity participation, and venture capital exits, serving institutional investors, family offices, and high-net-worth individuals.

Product overview

Empire Capital Holdings is a private partnership of investment professionals founded in 2004, operating as a unified alternative asset management firm with two primary business lines: Commercial Real Estate and Venture Capital. The Commercial Real Estate division manages investments across office, residential, retail, hotels, non-performing loans, and development sites in top-tier U.S. markets with both income-producing and opportunistic strategies, including special situations like bridge lending, preferred equity, and JV equity. The Venture Capital division invests in early-stage and growing companies in education, communications, real estate analytics, PropTech, and modern hospitality concepts. Holdings also span retail, investment and capital markets advisory, hospitality, and emerging technologies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Slate Property Group: New York-based private real estate investment firm focused on value-add multifamily, office, and mixed-use deals. Closely comparable to Empire as a boutique NYC CRE investment principal with active acquisitions and JV capital raising.
• Charney Companies: NYC-focused private real estate investment and development firm doing acquisitions, ground-up development, and JV equity. Similar boutique scale, NYC concentration, and opportunistic strategy to Empire Capital Holdings.
• Wildflower Ltd. New York-based private real estate investment and development firm pursuing multifamily, mixed-use, and repositioning deals. Comparable NYC boutique with similar JV equity and capital markets focus.
• ABM Investments: Family-controlled NYC real estate investment firm active in acquisitions, development, and joint ventures. Closely matches Empire's ownership structure, NYC focus, and JV-led capital deployment.
• Moinian Group: Privately held NYC real estate investment and development firm with a large Manhattan portfolio. Empire's Director of Leasing Nick Berger joined from Moinian, indicating direct operational overlap in NYC CRE investment and leasing.
• Naftali Group: Private NYC real estate investment and development firm active in luxury residential, multifamily, and mixed-use projects. Comparable as a boutique NYC principal pursuing similar asset classes and JV capital structures.

Broad incumbents

• RXR Realty: Large NYC-based real estate owner, operator, and developer with a multi-asset platform spanning office, multifamily, and mixed-use. Listed as an Empire institutional partner, RXR represents the broader incumbent end of the same NYC CRE investment category.
• Blackstone Real Estate: World's largest real estate investment manager with broad CRE strategies across debt and equity. Listed as an Empire institutional partner; serves as the broader incumbent against which Empire's boutique CRE platform competes.

Others

• Newmark Group: Global commercial real estate services firm offering investment sales, capital markets, and leasing. Empire's leasing director Nick Berger spent 23 years at Newmark, and the firm is a brokerage partner, making it a key adjacent industry participant.
• JLL Capital Markets: Global CRE investment sales, debt placement, and equity advisory franchise. Listed as a brokerage partner for Empire's transactions, JLL is a key capital markets intermediary adjacent to Empire's principal investment activity.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks3 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/empire-capital-holdings

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Empire Capital Holdings