TH Real Estate expands local Commercial Real Estate debt team with new analyst
Global real estate investment manager TH Real Estate has announced the appointment of Nicholas Lim as Analyst, Debt Strategies, in Australia, to support the continued growth of the Asia Pacific commercial real estate debt business.
In the newly created role, Mr. Lim will be responsible for assisting in the analysis of new debt opportunities and the management of TH Real Estate’s existing Asia Pacific debt portfolio.
Mr. Lim brings four years’ experience across M&A and real estate, previously working as a senior analyst at KPMG’s Deal Advisory division. Throughout his career at KPMG, he gained experience across a range of real estate sectors including office, industrial, retail, and residential developments.
Commenting on the appointment, Nick Evans, Head of Australia at TH Real Estate, said: “Nick’s strong analytical skills and broad experience make him a valuable contribution to our growing local commercial real estate debt business.”
Mr. Lim added: “Opportunities for non-bank lenders and debt funds to invest in commercial real estate debt is growing in Australia. I am delighted to work closely alongside TH Real Estate’s expert team to deliver the best possible opportunities for our clients in this space.”
Strong interest in CRE debt from institutions
Mr. Lim’s appointment expands the debt team led by Martin Priestley, Head of Debt, Asia Pacific, who was appointed last year to build TH Real Estate’s debt investment platform in Australia.
Mr. Priestley said the firm had a healthy pipeline through the latter part of 2018 and into 2019 with increasing activity from local institutional investors.
“Pullback from the market by the Australian commercial banks has heightened the need for alternative funding sources, creating an opportunity for institutional investors and debt funds to grow within the market,” said Mr. Priestley.
“There is now a permanent, attractive and executable investment opportunity for non-bank lenders and debt funds to provide a meaningful share of future commercial real estate debt finance in Australia. We have seen more than A$2 billion of lending opportunities in commercial real estate in the first half of 2018 alone and we expect this interest to continue,” said Mr. Priestley.
TH Real Estate, an affiliate of Nuveen, the investment manager of TIAA, is one of the largest real estate investment managers in the world with circa US$114 billion in assets under management globally.
