has established a real estate debt investment business in Australia, hiring Martin Priestley to run the unit.
The property investment manager 鈥� an affiliate of TIAA鈥檚 investment management arm Nuveen 鈥� said Priestley will be based in Sydney and report to Nick Evans, executive director and head of Australia, and Jack Gay, the head of global debt investment.
Priestley is joining TH Real Estate from CBRE, where he led the debt and structured finance team in Asia-Pacific.
TH Real Estate, which has existing real estate debt investment businesses in the US and Europe, has long been looking to enter the non-bank lending market in Australia.
As well as establishing a debt funds business in Australia, Priestley will oversee investment in Australian debt for the TIAA General Account.
Evans said: 鈥淢artin鈥檚 appointment is a reflection of our ongoing commitment and intention to build a strong business in Australia across real estate debt and equity.鈥�
Priestley said this was an exciting time for TH Real Estate because it was committing to one of the most sophisticated real estate debt markets in the world.
As reported in the latest edition of 91传媒在线, Australian debt is beginning to attract international investors. Priestly 鈥� still in his capacity at CBRE 鈥� said: 鈥淭he market is at an inflexion point. Relative returns from debt investment are as good as they get.鈥�
Gay said demand for non-bank debt in Australia was steadily growing.
鈥淏uilding a CRE debt team in Australia will complement our existing team in the US and Europe, providing our clients with global debt expertise and track record,鈥� he said.
