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.

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In this newly established investment strategy in Australia, Mr Priestley will oversee real estate debt investment and have responsibility for initially building a debt investment platform in Australia.  He will be responsible for investing client capital in Australia for both pooled funds and separate accounts, as well as oversee the deployment of TIAA debt allocations into the region.

Mr Priestley will be based in Sydney and report to Nick Evans, TH Real Estate Executive Director and Head of Australia, and Jack Gay, the Head of Global Debt Investment.

Mr Priestley has more than 25 years’ experience across real estate debt and equity including roles in investment banking, debt origination, funds management, corporate advisory and capital raising. He joins from CBRE where he led the Debt and Structured Finance (DSF) team in the Asia-Pacific region.

Commenting on the appointment, Mr Evans says: “Martin’s appointment is a reflection of our ongoing commitment and intention to build a strong business in Australia across real estate debt and equity. I am delighted somebody of Martin’s calibre is joining TH Real Estate and his track record and experience in debt and structured finance speaks for itself. I look forward to working closely with him as we build our debt capability in this important market.”

Mr Priestley adds: “This is an exciting time for TH Real Estate as we are committing to one of the most sophisticated real estate debt markets in the world.  I am looking forward to working with Nick and Jack in setting up the Australia venture and help build a long term and scalable business.”

Jack Gay, Head of Global Debt Investment, adds: “The demand for non-bank debt in Australia is steadily growing. Building 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. Martin’s expertise and experience makes him well placed to lead this new initiative.”

TH Real Estate’s US debt platform has over 70 years of experience, investing since 1934. Since 2011, the platform has averaged US$3.3 billion in new originations per year. The European platform was established in 2014 and has AUM of US$1.4 billion.

Established in Australia since April 2014, TH Real Estate has built a portfolio of Australian real estate assets of around A$1.04 billion. The real estate specialist has also advised some of Australia’s largest institutional investors on their international real estate investments, including AustralianSuper and the FutureFund.

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