Fassbender, currently head of Japan, has been with PGIM Real Estate for over two decades. In this newly created role he will oversee portfolio management strategies across Asia Pacific, help drive the firm’s growth in the region and continue to lead its largest Asia Pacific business in Japan. Fassbender was instrumental in establishing PGIM Real Estate’s flagship Asia Pacific value-add (AVP) fund series, and he will retain his current role as senior portfolio manager for the AVP strategies, which have completed close to US$21 billion1 in total transactions since its inception.

Fassbender reports to Benett Theseira, head of Asia Pacific at PGIM Real Estate.

Theseira commented: “David has demonstrated exceptional leadership over the years, with a track record in delivering excellent outcomes for our Asia Pacific investment strategies. His promotion reflects PGIM Real Estate’s commitment to developing talents and nurturing future leaders. David’s strong business acumen, extensive industry network and solid investment management experience will be pivotal in helping investors navigate current market uncertainty and identifying the best opportunities in high-conviction areas as we continue to expand our regional business.”
Fassbender joined PGIM Real Estate in 2002, with diverse experience spanning the management of open- and closed-ended real estate funds, asset management and transactions, including property development, across all key markets in Asia Pacific. He was previously head of South East Asia based in Singapore.

Fassbender added: “PGIM Real Estate is in a unique position to leverage our deep investment heritage in Asia Pacific, along with our breadth of global expertise to deliver long-term value to our investors globally. I look forward to continue working closely with the team to drive future growth.”

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Morgan Laughlin

PGIM Real Estate has completed the fundraise for its first Global Data Center Fund (GDCF) with $2 billion of capital allocated to the strategy. PGIM Real Estate secured capital commitments for the GDCF from a range of global investors.

The Fund has a build-fill-sell investment strategy focused on the low latency hyperscale segment of the global data center sector, targeting opportunistic investment returns. Since its first close in July 2023, the GDCF has been developing a geographically diversified portfolio of assets targeting investments across the major global data center markets of North America, Asia Pacific and Europe. The Fund is managed by a global portfolio management team led by Global Head of Data Center Investments Morgan Laughlin and PGIM Real Estate has over a decade of experience investing in the sector.

The Global Data Center Fund creates value through asset-level development joint ventures with leading data center operators. Retaining an operator-independent approach allows the Fund to access attractive investment opportunities in supply constrained markets through its deep range of operator relationships. ESG considerations are factored into each investment decision with a defined asset allocation to buildings with a green building certificate.

As well as raising capital amongst institutional investors, PGIM Real Estate entered into a distribution partnership with a leading global private bank to raise assets globally for the Fund.

Morgan Laughlin commented: “Successfully reaching our $2 billion target raise is an important milestone that reflects strong investor confidence in the sector and our strategy. Data centers are at the heart of the digital framework that is playing an increasingly critical role across our economy and society. In line with the recognition of the importance of digital infrastructure in our modern lives, global investors are rapidly increasing their exposure to the sector.”

To date, over $450 million of equity capital has been committed to data center investments across PGIM Real Estate, and GDCF retains a strong pipeline of opportunities that is expected to allow it to deploy the remaining capital within the next 18 months.

PGIM Real Estate co-chief executive officer and global chief investment officer  Raimondo Amabile commented: “Congratulations to the team on reaching the final close on our Global Data Center Fund. We see a significant opportunity to develop expertise in the data center space and create a wider digital infrastructure platform. Data centers, and other associated digital infrastructure, offer a generational investment opportunity as the digital demands of our societies and economies continue to expand at an astounding pace.”

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Steve Bulloch

PGIM Real Estate has launched its first Australian real estate debt strategy. The new strategy is on track to meet its target of AU$750 million with a first close of approximately AU$300 million and confirmed advanced commitments from several institutional investors which should see it surpass AU$600 million in the next few months.

The first dedicated, commingled Australian real estate debt strategy for PGIM Real Estate aims to provide strong risk-adjusted returns and downside protection with an investment strategy focusing on senior development loans, gap financing and financing of transitional Australian real estate assets. The strategy is managed by an experienced portfolio management team led by Steve Bulloch, head of Australia and head of Asia Pacific Real Estate Debt, and Emma Jack, head of Debt Portfolio Management in Asia Pacific at PGIM Real Estate.

Bulloch commented, “Driven by structural and cyclical factors, the long-term opportunities in Australian real estate debt are currently very compelling for investors. The real estate market in Australia has been one of the most resilient globally thanks to its strong economic fundamentals, population growth and limited supply. The investment case for real estate debt is further bolstered by the peak interest rates resulting in strong risk-adjusted returns.”

“We anticipate a further shift from traditional bank lenders to alternative capital sources. Pressure on valuations and the upcoming wave of maturities for loans mostly held by banks are set to create a meaningful funding gap, bringing opportunities for debt strategies like ours”, he said. 

The US$108 billion global debt business of PGIM Real Estate has invested through multiple credit cycles with its strong on-the-ground origination and asset management capability, including significant experience in value-add and high-yield debt strategies. Building upon the robust infrastructure, it has established strong  capability in debt originations in Australia  for over a decade, with extensive experience across all asset types and major cities.

With base interest rates having risen substantially in most parts of the world, the absolute return for a debt investment is increasingly attractive, particularly on a risk-adjusted basis. Bulloch added, “Many of our global institutional investors are seeing this as a good entry point to diversify their portfolios with real estate debt”.

PGIM Real Estate has been investing in the Asia Pacific markets for nearly 30 years, with a strong presence on the ground in Australia since 2011. The team has built a solid track record of over 50 debt and equity investments in Australia, with a total loan and transaction volume in excess of AU$5 billion to date.

“With the strength of our global platform and a proven investment track record in Australia, PGIM Real Estate is well positioned to meet the projected demand for real estate debt. We expect to deploy in excess of US$1 billion over the next few years in Australia, across both traditional core senior debt and higher-yield debt,” he added.  PGIM Real Estate is the US$206 billion real estate investment and financing business of PGIM, the US$1.34 trillion¹ global investment management business of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU).

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(L to R): Rachelle Schlesinger and David Haydon

PGIM Real Estate has expanded its agriculture financing platform into Australia, a market key to its global growth strategy.

The asset manager is one of the largest agriculture investors in the world, and Australia marks the first expansion of its agriculture lending business beyond North America1.

PGIM Real Estate will provide fixed rate, long-term financing solutions to Australian farm operators and agribusinesses through an exclusive partnership with specialist agricultural debt provider Foundation Agri Finance. It closed its first transaction at the end of last year, providing a loan to a diversified horticultural business.

Australia is a robust agriculture-producing nation with the value of agricultural production forecast to rise by 6% to AU$85 billion in 2024–252. The market for financing farming operations is dominated by Australian banks that typically provide short-term, floating rate loans. PGIM Real Estate sees an opportunity to provide an alternative with 10-to-15-year long-term, fixed rate financing solutions.

Rachelle Schlesinger, head of agriculture finance, PGIM Real Estate, commented: “We have big ambitions for the Australian market as we grow our agricultural financing platform’s international presence. We aim to offer competitive financing solutions to leading farmers and agribusiness across Australia and grow our Australian loan book to over AU$1 billion over the next five years.

“We chose to expand into the Australian market because we see significant demand from borrowers for the kinds of long-term, predictable financing solutions that we have built our reputation on in the US. Importantly, our operational infrastructure is already in place given our existing commercial real estate business in Australia.”

David Haydon, founder and executive director, Foundation Agri Finance, said, “Lending to Australian agriculture businesses has become increasingly short-term and less about the customer. We want to reverse this trend and offer long-term financing solutions that are built around the needs and goals of each customer.”

PGIM Real Estate has been active in agricultural lending for 120 years with a business focused on the US. It is part of PGIM Real Estate’s agricultural investment platform that has grown rapidly in the last 10 years, with AUM growing from US$4 billion 10 years ago to US$10.8 billion today.

PGIM has established a strong presence in Australia since opening in 2011, with a team of commercial real estate and private credit investment experts on the ground. It has a track record of managing multibillion-dollar private alternatives mandates for Australian investors, including Australian real estate equity and debt strategies via PGIM Real Estate, and providing debt financing to domestic corporations through PGIM Private Capital.

PGIM manages US$310 billion in private alternative strategies across real estate, agriculture, private credit, and private equity. These strategies are managed by PGIM Real Estate, PGIM Private Capital, and Montana Capital Partners.

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Lucas Salagaras

PGIM Real Estate and Point Capital have formed a residential-for-rent programmatic joint venture to develop a portfolio of residential properties for rent in Australia and have acquired two seed assets in Sydney and Brisbane.

The joint venture, which involves two of PGIM Real Estate’s flagship Asia Pacific value‑add and core-plus strategies, have committed significant capital to develop a portfolio of residential-for-rent properties in major cities in Australia.

The first seed asset is at 458 Wickham Street in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, while the second is located at 7 Macquarie Street in Parramatta, Sydney. Both sites were strategically selected on account of their status as key employment, residential and entertainment hubs that are well located relative to public transport. The design of the properties will be the first-of-their-kind residential-for-rent communities, each comprising approximately 300 smaller‑scale apartments, offering high levels of amenity and community but also affordability. The projects will also utilise a modular building approach that provides a competitive advantage on cost and timing to the traditional building methodology.

The JV aims to develop a further two to three projects of similar size with an initial portfolio target of 1,250 to 1,500 beds at completion.

Point Capital was born out of a partnership between the founders of MP Group, Mark and Melissa Peters and Lucas Salagaras, a former Investment Banker specialising in real estate capital markets and private equity. MP Group has a strong background in building disruptive property businesses, most recently founding Tribe Hotels which is currently being rolled out globally by Accor Group with over 100 hotels in the pipeline. They bring a proven track record to the JV in building brands, innovative design as well as asset development and operations. MP Group’s proprietary modular building methodology that was used in Tribe will be adopted to deliver the JV’s residential-for-rent projects.

“PGIM Real Estate continues to be positive on the living sector in Australia, given strong demographic drivers and the need for high-quality but affordable accommodation. Our JV with Point Capital presents a very exciting opportunity as it will deliver much-needed rental stock into a significantly undersupplied residential rental market in Australia,” said Steve Bulloch, managing director and head of Australia, PGIM Real Estate.

“The nascent institutional-grade residential-for-rent sector in Australia is still in its very early stages of development. We have been very thoughtful about choosing the right access point which meets the needs of the market but is also financially viable for us. We are confident this partnership will help us achieve that,” he added.

PGIM Real Estate is the US$210 billion real estate investment and financing business of PGIM, the US$1.27 trillion global investment management business of Prudential Financial, Inc.

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Eileen Yong

PGIM Real Estate has strengthened its Asia Pacific investment team with the appointment of Eileen Yong as Executive Director and Deputy Portfolio Manager for its Asia core strategy, based in Singapore. PGIM Real Estate is the real estate investment and financing business of PGIM, the US$1.2 trillion^[1] global investment management business of Prudential Financial, Inc.

Yong will be responsible for managing PGIM Real Estate’s Asia core strategy, which aims to deliver defensive total returns with a steady income by investing primarily in core, income-producing assets in the more liquid and mature markets across Asia Pacific. She will report to Vincent Chew, Executive Director and Portfolio Manager of the Asia core strategy. Yong steps in for Olivia Chow, Portfolio Manager, who will be moving internally to take on expanded portfolio management responsibilities in the region.

“In the rising interest rates and inflationary environment globally, we continue to see strong demand from global investors for Asia Pacific real estate solutions as they seek better risk-adjusted return and diversification, and to tap into the relatively stronger economic growth in the region. This is evident by the successful capital raising efforts for our Asia core strategy last year and the continued interest we experience from prospective investors. We are delighted to welcome Eileen to our Asia core team as we continue to strengthen our capabilities to meet investor needs and to build on the strong track record of our core strategy in the Asia Pacific,” said Benett Theseira, Managing Director and Head of Asia Pacific at PGIM Real Estate.

Yong brings more than 20 years of experience in real estate equity and debt investments in Asia Pacific. Most recently, she was Senior Fund Manager at LaSalle Investment Management leading the strategy, construction and investment decisions for two Asian mandates. Prior to that, she was a Vice President at Aviva Investors’ Real Estate Multi-Manager team for eight years. 

Yong’s appointment, along with several promotions of female leaders last year, underscores PGIM Real Estate’s commitment to building an inclusive and equitable company culture, where all talented individuals can thrive. 

“As one of the most long-standing investment platforms in Asia Pacific, we are proud to embrace diversity and inclusion at PGIM Real Estate. It’s our team’s diverse experience, backgrounds and perspectives that drive our strong investment outcome and make us better investors and lenders, particularly in a complex region like the Asia Pacific,” Theseira added.

Fiona Cho was named Asia Pacific Chief Operating Officer for PGIM Real Estate, in addition to retaining oversight of several client mandates as a Senior Portfolio Manager. Cho has been with the firm for over 14 years, with more than two decades’ track record across real estate investment management, investment banking and equity research.

Cho was the first regional diversity lead for Asia at the PGIM Real Estate Women’s Leadership Network launched in 2013. In her expanded role, she is also part of PGIM Real Estate’s Asia Pacific Executive Council and Investment Committee.

Julie Yeo has been promoted to Head of Southeast Asia Transactions at PGIM Real Estate, where she oversees all acquisitions and dispositions in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and South Korea. She joined PGIM Real Estate’s Transactions team as an Investment Vice President in 2021, bringing more than a decade of experience executing transactions across the region.

Ge Xu has relocated from London to join PGIM Real Estate’s Asia value partners (AVP) portfolio management team, where she helps manage the Asia value partners investment franchise. Xu joined PGIM Real Estate in 2016 and was previously the European chief underwriter. 

The roles are all based in Singapore.

 ——

[1] As of 30 September 2022.

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Footh has been appointed as a managing director on the global Data Center Investments portfolio management team. He will have transactional and portfolio management responsibilities for investments made by PGIM Real Estate in the data center sector. Based in Seattle, Footh will report into Morgan Laughlin, PGIM Real Estate’s head of Japan and global head of Data Center Investments.

Footh joins from Amazon Web Services, where among other roles he was responsible for all data center infrastructure development and portfolio oversight of AWS data centers in the western half of the United States, Canada and Latin America, EMEA and Asia Pacific regions. He brings more than 30 years of real estate experience to the role, having worked for a range of market participants in the U.S. and Europe before joining AWS.

Laughlin commented: “The availability of large amounts of low-latency data processing capacity is becoming increasingly critical to the global economy and society as a whole. This trend is driving long-term, sustained growth in demand for data center infrastructure. It also clearly signals the need for real estate investors to incorporate digital infrastructure investment strategies into their global portfolios.”

“PGIM Real Estate is addressing this investor need with a dedicated data center investment team pursuing investment structures to grow exposure to the global data center sector. Jim is an important addition to our dedicated global Data Center Investments team, and I am truly excited to have him on board.”

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