Tony Avila
Over the past 25 years, Tony Avila has served as an advisor in over 85 homebuilding merger and acquisition transactions valued at over $12 billion and helped to raise approximately $10 billion in over 75 debt and equity issuances for publicly-traded and private homebuilding and land development companies.
Mr. Avila founded Builder Advisor Group in 2008 and has been working as a homebuilder investment banker since 1996. Mr. Avila has served as an investment banker in more homebuilding transactions than any other advisor. Most recently Mr. Avila closed the sale of several top 100 builders including MHI, Transeastern Homes, Town and Country Homes, American West, Wade Jurney, Dan Ryan Builders, and Arbor Homes. Mr. Avila has also raised capital for dozens of builders and developers, including Johnson Development, Metro Development, Beazer Homes, and Century Communities. Mr. Avila advised on the three top performing builder IPO’s since the financial crisis including LGI Homes, Century Communities, and Dream Finders Homes.
Mr. Avila is also co-founder and a Managing Principal for Encore Capital Management. Encore focuses on investing, developing lots, and constructing homes and apartments in California, Arizona, Texas, Oregon, Washington, and Florida. Encore has developed over 20,000 lots, homes, and apartments since 2009. Encore manages over $2 billion in assets.
Mr. Avila’s experience in the housing sector began during the S&L crisis when he worked at the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco overseeing troubled, government-controlled savings and loans. He joined Montgomery Securities in 1996, which became Banc of America Securities in 1998. While at Banc of America Securities, Mr. Avila was an advisor to the Pebble Beach Company, helping to bring the Pebble Beach Resorts back to U.S. ownership. In 1999, Mr. Avila represented The Irvine Company in its acquisition of Irvine Apartment Communities. In late 2001/early 2002, he advised D.R. Horton for the acquisition of Schuler Homes, the second largest homebuilding acquisition in the U.S.
In 2002, Mr. Avila joined JMP Securities where he founded and lead the Homebuilding Investment Banking team for six years. Some notable transactions include advising Transeastern Properties on its sale to TOUSA in August 2005, advising Town and Country Homes on its sale to The Blackstone Group and K. Hovnanian Homes and advising on the formation of a $250 million joint venture between Metro Development and D.E. Shaw to acquire distressed land. In 2008, he advised Matlin Patterson on its capital investment in Standard Pacific Homes. Mr. Avila worked on the restructuring of $75 million of Beazer Homes debt and assisted in establishing a joint venture between GTIS Partners and LGI Homes.
Mr. Avila is a graduate of U.C. Berkeley. He is a ULI member and active participant of the Community Development Council. Mr. Avila is a board member of the Positive Coaching Alliance and a member of the Finance Advisory Board for the Sisters of the Holy Family. Mr. Avila is an avid Ironman triathlete and has participated twice in the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii. Mr. Avila has also run the Boston, Big Sur, San Francisco, California International, Chicago, and New York Marathons.
Ron Yelland
Mr. Yelland is a Vice President at Builder Advisor Group. Ron has been a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the State of Florida for over 20 years having experience in both private industry and the public accounting firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers ("PWC"). Specializing in all aspects of real estate, to include homebuilding, construction, land development, property management, title and mortgage lending, Ron has spent the majority of his professional career with medium to large real estate clients. After leaving PWC, Ron joined one of his clients, Mercedes Homes in 1993, as a Manager of Financial Reporting, eventually working his way to a variety of officer and board positions to include Chief Financial Officer. Mercedes Homes at its peak closed nearly 6,000 homes, resulting in over $1.6 billion in revenues. Mr. Yelland has a Masters and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Florida and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Ron is an avid cyclist, having biked the length of the state of Florida and from Orlando to Atlanta.
Zach Legge
Senior Management Consultant
Zach is a Vice President at Builder Advisor Group. He is responsible for the execution of M&A transactions and debt & equity capital raises. Zach oversees the preparation of financial models, business valuations, and marketing presentations. He manages client relationships and coordinates transaction-related due diligence. Zach has been a member of BAG’s team since 2019 and since then has provided advisory services on over a dozen successful builder sales and more than $2 billion in capital raises.
Prior to joining Builder Advisor Group, Zach worked with Infiniti Consulting Group in which he helped provide advisory services in Cloud Computing. Zach gained invaluable experience in constructing financial reports as well as engaging with clients.
Zach graduated Summa Cum Laude from CSU, Chico with a B.S. in Finance and a minor in International Studies.
Giuliano DeMartini
Giuliano is an analyst at Builder Advisor Group. His responsibilities include financial analysis, creation of financial models, analysis of market trends, and advising on the sale of builders. Giuliano aided in the completion of the Dream Finders Homes IPO, multiple capital raises, and advised on the sale of numerous builders to both domestic and international buyers.
Prior to joining Builder Advisor Group, Giuliano interned with Wells Fargo Advisors, where he helped provide advisory and portfolio analysis for private clients, gaining invaluable experience in both the institutional research and private client advisory side of the business.
Giuliano graduated from Saint Mary’s College of California with a B.S. in Finance.
Sam Sutter
Sam is an Analyst for Builder Advisor Group, supporting the financial analysis and valuation of homebuilding and developer clients. Sam recently joined BAG in July 2022 and was previously working in Commercial Banking at HSBC for three years. Sam earned a Bachelor in Commerce with a specialization in Finance from the University of British Columbia, Canada.
Zachary Avila
Zach is an analyst at Builder Advisor Group. Zach's responsibilities include the evaluation of financial performance, analysis of market trends, and creation of pitchbooks.
Prior to joining Builder Advisor Group, Zach interned for general contractor, Build Group, where he got hands-on experience with inspecting project exteriors and ensuring all deliveries were on-site for the next phase of build out. Zach also interned with project manager, Belong, obtaining valuable experience working with customers who wished to rent their home through Belong's platform. Zach graduated from Bates College in the spring of 2021 with a B.A. in Economics and a minor in Mathematics.
Cara Newman
Cara is the Executive Assistant to Tony Avila, CEO, of Builder Advisor Group. Her responsibilities include all executive needs, in addition to event coordination, client relations, conferences, and operational support. She has provided support on a number of successful builder sales and capital raises.
Cara has been a member of BAG’s team since 2017 and has been working for Mr. Avila since 2004.
Cara graduated from San Diego State University & attended Complutense University of Madrid.
Cara attended San Francisco Culinary Institute and was accepted to CIA Hyde Park New York.
Karla Bermudez
Karla joined BAG in 2015 and serves as Sr. Director of Finance and Accounting. She manages finance, accounting, and operations including AP, AR, HR, Employees Benefits, payroll, cash management and prepares quarterly and year-end financial statements.
Karla is an active member of the California Building Industry Association of Professional Women in Building (PWB). She studied Business Administration at San Francisco State University and holds a Certificate of Achievement in Business Accounting from Los Medanos College.
Builder Advisor Group is the established leader in residential real estate since 1996.
BAG is a boutique investment banking firm dedicated to providing M&A advisory and capital raising solutions to our builder and developer clients.
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Our goals are to help companies grow, create communities, and house Americans.
Testimonials
“Builder Advisor Group team members worked tirelessly to achieve the highest possible valuation for our company – almost 6x book equity and $1.6 billion aggregate purchase price. They exceeded every expectation and have the rapport with senior leadership of all potential acquirers. Tony Avila has the most exhaustive Rolodex with access to dozens of potential acquirers – foreign and domestic. We never would have thought to bring a buyer from Europe to purchase our company.”
“Tony has a unique ability to be there in every moment – anticipated or not – when you need him. He also knows precisely when to step back and let the process go as it's meant to among the principals. That kind of experience and depth of understanding of these big moments is rare.”