Sam Mellor joins as head of real estate debt, Australia, effective immediately. With over 27 years of experience in the debt markets and portfolio management across Europe and Asia Pacific, Mellor will oversee PGIM’s Australian real estate debt strategies and portfolio management team.

Stuart Carr will join PGIM as head of real estate equity, Australia, in December 2025. Carr brings over two decades’ experience in Australian real estate development and transactions. He will oversee the equity transaction team and lead origination, investment execution, and divestment activities across Australia.

The newly created roles mark a significant step in the strategic growth of PGIM’s real estate business in Australia, deepening its debt and equity investment capabilities to support the ongoing success of its Asia Pacific fund series. Last year, PGIM launched its first dedicated Australian real estate debt strategy, which has since seen strong deployment and a robust pipeline of investment opportunities.

In the first three quarters of 2025, PGIM completed 17 transactions in Asia Pacific valued at nearly US$1.9 billion, including nine transactions in Australia across the office, industrial, retail and living sectors. In Australia, it completed five debt transactions for a total commitment of AU$283 million (US$188 million) and has four more loans in documentation that will soon take it over AU$500 million (US$330 million) deployed year to date. The Australia team has invested a further AU$660 million (US$435 million) in gross asset value on the equity side this year. With a strong pipeline of investment activities, the new appointments are set to accelerate its growth trajectory.

Based in Sydney, both Mellor and Carr will report to Steve Bulloch, head of Australia for PGIM’s real estate business and head of Asia Pacific real estate debt.

Bulloch commented: “Australia remains a strategic growth driver for PGIM’s real estate business in Asia Pacific. As we continue to invest throughout the region, the breadth and depth of Sam and Stuart’s expertise will not only strengthen our Australian debt and equity capabilities, their significant experience, capital relationships, and leadership skills will also be invaluable to our broader business.”

“The Australian market is well positioned with structural and cyclical drivers fuelling continued rental growth and relatively attractive asset pricing in many sectors. The shift across global credit markets from traditional bank lenders to alternative capital sources will continue to present compelling opportunities for institutional private lenders like PGIM. With the exciting opportunities ahead, Sam and Stuart will be instrumental in driving our next stage of growth,” he added.

As the world’s third-largest real estate investment manager,^[1] PGIM has a robust history of investing through market cycles with its strong on-the-ground origination and asset management capability. Since establishing a footprint in Australia in 2011, the team has built a track record of over 50 real estate debt and equity investments across all asset types and major cities in Australia, with a total loan and transaction volume in excess of AU$5.5 billion (US$3.7 billion).

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Notes:
[1] 1 As of 30 June 2025. Net AUM is US$138 billion and AUA is US$47 billion. PGIM Real Estate is the thirdlargest real estate investment manager (out of 72 firms surveyed) in terms of global real estate assets under management based on Pensions & Investments’ “Largest Real Estate Investment Managers” list published October 2024.

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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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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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