South Florida Firm Lands $30M To Scale Early Education Real Estate Fund

Fortec, a national leader in early childhood education real estate, has secured a $30 million institutional commitment to Fortec Fund I, marking a significant milestone in the firm’s evolution into a scaled investment platform.

The investment comes from QSO Capital Management LLC, investment adviser to Mega Alpha Fund I, the sole discretionary vehicle of Equiturn Holdings. An Inc. 5000-recognized firm, Equiturn is one of South Florida’s fastest-growing capital markets platforms, known for targeting sectors where supply has not kept pace with demand, often in undercapitalized markets.

“We’ve spent years demonstrating that early childhood education facilities are both essential infrastructure and a compelling investment opportunity,” said Pablo Barreiro, chairman of Fortec. “This commitment is an important milestone in that evolution, validating the thesis at the institutional level and positioning us to accelerate our next phase of growth.”

 

“This partnership reflects the disciplined approach we’ve taken to building this platform,” said Martin Saidon, CEO of Fortec. “From structuring the fund to aligning with the right institutional partner, every step has been focused on execution. With this capital in place, we’re well-positioned to move quickly on our pipeline and deliver high-quality assets in markets where demand is most acute.”

Fortec launched its fund in 2025 with a target of $100 million in equity, supporting approximately $300 million in total transaction volume. The strategy focuses on acquiring and developing early childhood education centers across the United States, including acquisitions of operating schools, sale-leaseback opportunities and value-add repositionings in supply-constrained markets. To date, the firm has completed more than $240 million in transactions across 14 states, partnering with leading operators to deliver facilities in high-demand, underserved markets.

As institutional investors expand into alternative real estate sectors, early childhood education is emerging as a resilient, impact-driven category. With approximately 15 million children under age 6 in the U.S. and a persistent shortage of accessible child care, Fortec’s model delivers both strong financial performance and measurable community impact.

Fortec has partnered with Agora, a leading real estate investment management platform offering technological and financial services, to provide real-time reporting on performance, cash flow and returns. The firm also engaged Equiturn as a capital markets advisor to support investor relations and institutional capital formation as the fund scales, which facilitated its partnership with Mega Alpha Fund. The fund’s legal structure is overseen by TIL Partners, PLLC, with Managing Partner Michael Huseby and associate Kyle Bryant serving as fund counsel.

With its first institutional capital secured, Fortec is actively engaging additional investors as it continues to scale the platform nationwide.