Olympian and former professional hockey player Derek Roy co-founded Auvergne Relay Capital in 2023 with Brad Corrigan, owner/co-founder of Century 21 Synergy Realty.
At the time, Corrigan was being asked about potential investors for development deals. “His thought was: Why not start a company that facilitates these relationships? And so we began building the framework of our company,” Roy said in an interview.
“The biggest thing right now is building our network and finding solid deals with reputable developers. If our network does well in their first few deals, their appetite will grow.”
Auvergne Relay Capital, strictly an intermediary for facilitating investor and developer relationships, has focused on purpose-built multifamily, condominium and student-housing development projects.
Green Street News spoke with Roy about his entrepreneurship journey in the commercial real estate industry and current opportunities he sees in the market.
What’s the elevator pitch for Auvergne Relay Capital?
We’re an intermediary between people who want to review real estate development or acquisition deals. Our network typically does not have time to source these opportunities on their own. That’s where we come in.
We find developers in need of capital, and we share these deals with our network. Matchmakers in a way. We do all the legwork in gathering any information required for our network to perform their due diligence, including doing site walk-throughs.
Our goal is to source reputable developers who have a proven track record, so that our matches are a success story and everyone can gain.
Where do you see opportunities right now?
It is no secret that across Canada, demand for housing is boiling over. The demand is robust and across all price points. The developers we have worked with so far emphasize three areas: purpose-built rental units, student housing, condominiums.
Student housing is a particularly interesting area as rising rents and a lack of institutionally owned student dorms/beds is very problematic. Many developers are working with universities and colleges to try to find solutions to this problem.
“The biggest shift has been the focus from condominium development to purpose-built rental units”
The biggest shift has been the focus from condominium development to purpose-built rental units. Many developers have homed in on this market lately as demand is so high and the returns are solid and consistent. A lot of this demand is fueled by high immigration, cost of living/inflation and high interest rates. It is increasingly difficult to qualify for mortgages and save for down payments.
What trends do you see in multifamily rental development?
With the amount of people entering the housing market and the overall lack of options, multifamily condos and purpose-built rentals are the way to go. People are going to have to live somewhere. There’s no way we’ll hit the target [for housing] that the government has earmarked, but we’re going to try, and it’s our job to help with that by engaging our network.
We have also noticed that consumer demand has also changed the landscape of purpose-built rental development. People view these rentals as long term and are seeking a sense of community and convenience. As a result, we are seeing innovative designs with a focus on common areas and amenities, as well community events programs within buildings.
“Developers are going to need access to record levels of capital in order to move forward on their projects”
The crisis is real, and as people’s mindset and expectations change, governments at all levels will need to adapt in order to get things done. That being said, developers are going to need access to record levels of capital in order to move forward on their projects. We see huge potential for investors in that regard.
How has the challenging macroeconomic environment helped to shape your business?
It’s been a little tough. People are holding on to their money to see how everything settles; will interest rates drop quickly or slowly? We feel rates are going to come down real slow over the next year or two.
But like we were talking about, if you’re doing your job and successfully raising capital and fostering fruitful relationships on all sides at the hardest possible time, it’s going to make you that much better when it becomes easier to raise capital. Right now, we’re just focused on our network, making sure they’re seeing the best deals possible.
What aspects of your pro hockey career prepared you for the entrepreneurship journey?
If you’re a pro hockey player, you are essentially an entrepreneur. Hear me out here. You’re part of a team, but you are ultimately responsible for taking care of your body/mind and making sure you perform every day at the highest level.
“I’ve always believed that pressure is a privilege, and to be able to perform in pressure situations is what I’ve been doing my whole career”
The only person taking care of you is you. I’ve always believed that pressure is a privilege, and to be able to perform in pressure situations is what I’ve been doing my whole career. I’ve always worked as hard as I possibly could in whatever I’ve immersed myself into.
I wanted to bring that same work ethic, dedication and mindset into my entrepreneurship journey.
