Career Summary
Ray founded NetCo Investments, Inc. along with Mitch Bayat in 2002 to pursue value added shopping center developments and investments. Since then, Ray has been involved in the acquisition, redevelopment, sale, and financing of more than 1.2 million square feet and transactions valued at over $300 million. Prior to this, Ray was with Grubb & Ellis from 1997 to 2003. He was one of the top retail salespersons for Grubb & Ellis nationally, culminating in a Circle of Excellence performance for years 2000 through 2002. Prior to joining Grubb & Ellis, Ray was Leasing Manager for Newhall Land, the largest land owner in Los Angeles County. The company was involved in both residential and commercial development in Valencia, California. Ray was also an entrepreneur. He owned a franchised restaurant and two other retail businesses from 1988 through 1994.
Experience
Currently, Ray is working on securing investment opportunities within the Western States and on a selective basis completing build to suit assignments for tenants. At Grubb & Ellis, Mr. Bayat was active in the Valencia market with over $100 million in commercial land listings, 300,000 sq. ft. of retail leasing, and numerous investment transactions. He was also a member of the leasing team for the 300,000 sq. ft. Chesterfield Square in urban Los Angeles. At Newhall Land, Ray was responsible for leasing existing portfolio of office and retail properties in excess of 700,000 square feet. Additionally, he was responsible for market research, financial analysis, and leasing analysis for development of neighborhood and community shopping centers. With an extensive background in commercial land sales, Mr. Bayat was intimately familiar with entitlement issues and was solicited in the Southern California market for evaluation, marketing, and feasibility studies of large land holdings.
Over the last twenty five years, Ray has had experience in transactions with major companies such as Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Ross Dress For Less, dd’s Discounts, Home Goods, Sierra Trading Post, Beall’s, Tuesday Morning, Spec’s, PetCo, Save Mart, Food 4 Less, Albertson’s, Target, CVS, Walgreens, Rite-Aid, Office Max, Office Depot, 99¢ Only Stores, Big 5, Factory 2 U, Levitz, Dollar Tree, Tractor Supply Company, Starbucks, Baskin Robbins, Togo’s Sandwiches, Don Pablo’s Restaurants, Buca Di Beppo, Market Broiler, Mimi’s Café, In-N-Out, Panda Express, Tommy’s, Del Taco, Ci Ci’s Pizza, Subway, Sprint, AT&T, America’s Tire Company, ARCO, 7-Eleven, Rent A Center, Aaron’s Rents, and various other regional tenants. Additionally, he has been involved in transactions with InvenTrust, CW Capital, Lincoln Financial Group, Newhall Land, Archon Group, Fairfield Residential LLC, The Hanover Company, Investment Development Services, Westrust, Katell Properties, Chase Bank, Home Savings of America, Washington Mutual, and Great Western Bank. Ray has also been involved in the disposition of a portfolio of former bank branches, as well as loan workouts on several retail strip centers.
Education
Mr. Bayat graduated May 1996 from the University of Southern California with masters’ degrees in Business Administration (Real Estate Finance Concentration) and Real Estate Development. He received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara in March 1991.
Organizations
Ray Bayat is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers, University of Southern California Real Estate Alumni, GoBundance, FamBundance and Front Row Dads.
