Gray Capital is a Chicago-based, family-owned private investment firm with a truly one-of-a-kind perspective: We’re visionary yet practical, bold yet built to last. Backed by decades of experience in real estate, construction, relevant technologies, and adjacent industries, we invest alongside experienced and visionary operators who know the value of true partnership.
We choose our partnerships with the same level of attention to detail that we bring to our projects. The connection to our family companies allows us to lend a century’s worth of innovation to our clients, streamlining execution and mitigating risk. We invest in opportunities that carry the grit and vision to mature into something bold and enduring. Because the right investments don’t just perform. They transform.
We’re more than capital providers — we’re partners. We work alongside founders and operators every step of the way, listening and problem-solving as one team built on trust. We meet every challenge with expertise and rigor, leveraging our integrated services and shared resources to support our goals. In an industry focused on transactions, we prioritize the relationship.
At the end of the day, an investment is an act of conviction. It’s moving forward with the faith that our work will lead to something people can lean on. We’re committed to bringing good ideas to life and creating a lasting impact with our partners.
Every Gray Capital investment is built on the foundation of a strong partnership and a commitment to excellence. Explore how we’re turning unique opportunities into impactful ventures.
Gray Capital brings deep investment capability and expertise across all real estate asset classes and markets, transforming properties through strategic renovation, addition, or new construction.
Whether in partnership with entrepreneurs or other private equity investors, Gray Capital looks to bring non-control minority investments to unique business opportunities in select industries.
Gray Capital builds trusted, strategic partnerships by offering high-impact advisory services in due diligence, joint ventures, capital strategy, and market intelligence to help operators succeed at the highest level.
At Gray Capital, we’re united by a shared commitment to excellence.
Matt serves as Managing Partner of Gray Capital. He began his career with the Graycor Companies in 1993 and has held a variety of management positions within the group. In 2001, he was appointed President of Graycor Construction Company, then in 2013 was named Co-Chairman of Graycor, Inc. He also serves as Executive Chairman of BuiltWorlds, a leading professional network for innovation and innovators within the worlds of infrastructure and buildings.
His current professional affiliations include The Economic Club of Chicago and the Young Presidents’ Organization Chicago Chapter. He has also been featured in numerous trade publications, such as Crain’s Chicago Business “40 under 40” and Engineer News-Record, and he has spoken at numerous industry events and conferences.
With over 10 years of experience in the investment industry, Benny has had the opportunity to contribute to some of the most trusted institutions including; Guggenheim Partners, Jones Lang LaSalle, The John Buck Company, and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
In his current role as Vice President of Gray Capital Investors, Benny is responsible for sourcing new real estate investment opportunities, portfolio management, and advisory services. Prior to this role, Benny founded Riva Advisors to share his institutional knowledge with entrepreneurs and private market investors. Riva Advisors has subsequently completed a merger with Gray Capital Investors.
Over this career, Benny has executed $375MM of transactions with a total capitalization value of $1.4B. This broad landscape of experience varies across acquisitions, dispositions, development, fundraising, and structuring for all major real estate asset classes, with a focus on value-add, opportunistic, and core-plus investing.
Spencer serves as an Investment Associate at Gray Capital. He is responsible for conducting investment research, performing financial analysis, and supporting due diligence efforts for potential investments.
Prior to joining Gray Capital, Spencer was a Senior Valuations Analyst at Altus Group, where he focused on underwriting commercial real estate assets across all major property types, with an emphasis on multifamily and industrial. His role included financial modeling and cash flow analysis, market research, and valuation analysis for institutional clients and investment managers.
Spencer holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with specializations in Finance and Real Estate from The Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business.
John serves as Director of Real Estate and has over 35 years of experience related to development and engineering project management. In his role he is responsible for sourcing real estate investment and advisory service opportunities. Prior to Graycor, he worked at Conlon Commercial as a Senior Commercial Real Estate Broker, as a Senior Development Manager in industrial development projects working for Verus Partners, and in retail corporate real estate working for Lowe’s. He has a strong background in management of land development and building construction projects, having developed
700 acres of land and 6 MSF feet of commercial buildings with a capitalized value of more than $1B.
John holds a BS in Civil Engineering from University of Wisconsin–Madison and a Master’s of Project Management from Northwestern University. John has obtained professional licenses as a Real Estate Managing Broker in Illinois and a Professional Engineer in Illinois.
Whether you’re exploring a partnership or just want to learn more, we look forward to hearing from you.