News
ATLANTA – Congratulations to GPS Hospitality! The company recently completed a deal to purchase 194 Burger King restaurants in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi. The complex transaction also resulted in GPS Hospitality refinancing its entire portfolio of restaurants with SunTrust Bank.
A Womble Carlyle team led by Joe Foltz worked on the deal with GPS Hospitality for 14 months. In addition to Foltz, the team consisted of attorneys Ashley Bynoe, Laura Hester, Jessica Johns, Keith Taylor and Carolyn Wilson and paralegal Linda Martin.
Following the $250 million deal, the Atlanta-based GPS Hospitality now operates 438 Burger King locations, making it the second largest domestic franchisee.
Joe Foltz has been one of the Atlanta market’s leading transactional attorneys for more than three decades. He represents developers, property owners, managers and equity investors in the acquisition, development, leasing, structured financing and management of commercial real estate and operating businesses. Foltz also practices in the area of corporate finance, secured lending and general corporate law.
Ashley Bynoe’s practice focuses on a variety of commercial finance transactions, including real estate financings, agented credit facilities, acquisition financings and note offerings in various industries.
Laura Hester is an experienced commercial real estate attorney who represents the owners, developers and managers of hotels, multi‑family, student housing, condominiums, retail, office and industrial properties in complex transactions. In addition, Hester counsels corporate clients in private equity, finance, mergers and acquisitions, secured lending, technology licensing, strategic restructuring and general corporate matters. Foltz and Hester have practiced together for more than 13 years.
Jessica Johns represents developers and property owners in real estate transactions concerning hotels, restaurants, apartment complexes, industrial buildings, and other commercial real estate.
Keith Taylor focuses on the acquisition and development of real estate for commercial, multi‑family and single‑family uses. Taylor represents clients in all facets of development, including acquisition and disposition, land use, leasing and the organization and structure of master-planned communities, condominiums and mixed-use developments throughout the United States and the Caribbean.
Carolyn Wilson has more than 30 years of experience in the Atlanta market guiding clients in both commercial lending and commercial real estate transactions. In the field of commercial lending, Wilson has experience in all aspects of secured lending, and she advises banks and institutional lenders on structuring loans and assessing alternatives that protect a lender. In the real estate arena, she is involved in all aspects of a project’s development, including negotiating purchase and sale agreements, coordinating due diligence inquiries and preparing and reviewing documentation typically involved in real estate acquisitions.
