ATLANTA - Access Point Financial, LLC (APF), a leading direct lender focused exclusively on the hospitality industry, today announced the appointment of Ankur Shah as Chief Financial Officer and Head of Capital Markets. Ankur is assuming his new leadership role with the company upon the retirement of APF’s outgoing CFO, John Patton, who held that position since 2011. Prior to accepting his most recent role, Ankur served as Managing Director and Co-Head of Capital Markets and Corporate Development. In his capacity as CFO, Ankur will be responsible for establishing, structuring and managing capital and industry relationships, overseeing corporate strategy and financial operations, and serve as a member of the company’s executive committee. Ankur will be based in APF’s McLean, VA office.

With over 15 years of experience in capital markets, specialty finance, commercial real estate investment and investment management, Ankur was the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Pike Hill Lodging, a specialty finance company focused on the hotel sector that formed a strategic alliance with APF in 2021. Prior to that, he served as Vice President of SunBridge Capital Management, a multi-strategy investment manager, where he was responsible for the sourcing, execution, and management of investments across public and private markets.

“We would first like to heartily congratulate John Patton on his retirement and thank him for his service and dedication to the company over the past 12 years,” said Mike Lipson, CEO of Access Point Financial. “Under his leadership, we achieved unprecedented success during a time of financial volatility. We are deeply honored to have Ankur now join our leadership team as CFO. We look forward to many more years of growth, based on his extensive knowledge and expertise in hospitality finance and investment that will allow us to further grow our service portfolio and continue serving our industry clients’ diverse financial needs.”

Ankur’s hospitality industry experience includes a former role as Finance Manager for DiamondRock Hospitality Company (NYSE: DRH), where he was active in over $1B of hotel investments and over $1B of equity and debt financings. Ankur’s prior professional experience also includes a position as Senior Real Estate Analyst at Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH).

For more information on Access Point Financial’s new permanent financing option or its comprehensive portfolio of hospitality-focused financial services, Please visit www.accesspointfinancial.com.

About Access Point Financial

Founded in 2011, Atlanta-based Access Point Financial, LLC (APF) is a direct hospitality lender that provides financing to qualified hoteliers throughout the United States. APF's loan programs are flexible and are typically used for refinance, acquisition, construction take-out, renovations or brand-mandated PIPs, and value-add transactions, such as asset repositioning, hotel conversions and ground up construction. APF's programs are designed specifically for the hospitality industry and offer a competitive alternative to traditional bank financing. APF understands the complexities of the industry and are uniquely positioned to customize its loan programs to meet the needs of its clients even during periods of volatility. For more information, please visit www.accesspointfinancial.com.

Lori Tirado
Managing Director & Head of Business Development