Steve Lawrence

Leading Australian specialist property lender Pallas Capital has deployed over $100 million in the summer months through the Pallas Funding Trust (PFT).

PFT was deployed on a diverse mix of loan types to completed residential projects, future development sites and investment properties across locations in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane. Some of these loans included an industrial property in Western Sydney, a recently completed apartment project in central Adelaide and a portfolio of residential investment properties in New South Wales.

“PFT has been seeded with a portfolio of high-quality loans in the three months since Pallas Capital commenced the program. Our broker and borrower clients see Pallas as an attractive alternative to the banks, given PFT’s competitive interest rates, flexible leverage options and market-leading service proposition,” says Steve Lawrence, Executive Director of Lending, Pallas Capital.

He adds, “Our brokers have full confidence that Pallas Capital delivers in a lending environment that is fraught with over promising and under delivery. All of these factors will see demand for PFT and the suite of Pallas Capital products continue strongly with 2022 predicted to be a record year for lending volumes.”

The record performance over the summer quarter demonstrates robust appetite in the market for the loan types that PFT specialises in. Pallas Capital expects this demand to accelerate, through its strong relationships with brokers and borrowers that specialise in the mid-market CRE space. While all PFT loans are secured by a registered first mortgage, Pallas Capital will also look to provide additional funding through its other products, such as the Pallas High Yield Fund that makes second mortgage loans. Pallas Capital’s comprehensive lending strategy will give qualifying borrowers access to additional flexibility on their debt structuring.

PFT is a lending vehicle that was established by Pallas Capital in November 2021. It had a total funding of $530 million approved by its funding partners, Pallas Group and Credit Suisse. PFT lends money on a range of pre-development loans, residual stock loans and investment property loans, with loan sizes ranging from $1 – $15 million. PFT specifically caters to medium-sized CRE borrowers who are under-serviced by the major banks.

Pallas Capital is one of the fastest growing structured property investment arrangers in Australia, offering brokers and developers lending solutions that are tailored to their needs. It offers borrowers five core loan types that includes acquisition, construction, residual stock and vacant land loans, along with the flexibility to negotiate LVRs and level of pre-sales for construction loans.

The business manages funds for loans secured against non-specialised property assets with values between $1 – $50 million in major metropolitan areas. Sophisticated investors are offered investment opportunities providing fixed rate returns ranging from 5.5% p.a. in the Pallas Short Term Fund to 6.75% p.a. (first mortgages) and to 15% p.a. (preference equity). Pallas Capital’s loans are supported by detailed due diligence on the borrower, a realistic and multi-faceted exit strategy, and active management of all loans by the Pallas Capital team throughout the term.

Pallas Capital and developer Fortis form part of Pallas Group, a business that provides specialist investment, lending and development solutions in the boutique property market in Australia.

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Steve will lead Pallas Capital’s growing lending team as the business continues its trajectory of rapid growth, bringing its expanding portfolio of flexible lending products to brokers and borrowers around Australia.

Since its inception five years ago, Pallas Capital has enjoyed rapid growth – having underwritten over A$750 million of transactions to date. With Steve’s appointment, this number will climb sharply over the next 6-12 months.

Steve joins Pallas Capital from La Trobe Financial where he most recently served as Chief Lending Officer Commercial. Steve said that his focus at Pallas Capital will be to expand the loan book at a rapid rate, bringing high-quality service, great speed-to-market, and flexibility in assessing and delivering loans to the growing client base.

“I have been in the banking, finance and property industries in Australia for almost 40 years, and I know that relationships are at the heart of success in this business, and therefore in everything that I do.”

“Patrick Keenan and Dan Gallen have a very compelling, ambitious and well-supported vision for Pallas Capital’s business, and it was an easy decision for me to become part of the team working to achieve this vision.”

“I look forward to continuing to build on my strong relationships in the Australian lending industry to drive positive outcomes for brokers and borrowers looking to take advantage of one of the most competitive real-estate loan product ranges in the Australian market, supported by Pallas Capital’s robust lending strategy,” Mr. Lawrence said.

Dan Gallen, Chief Investment Officer of the Pallas Group, said Steve’s appointment enables Pallas Capital to expand its support of the thriving property sector in Australia.

“Steve brings deep experience, trust and industry-leading relationships to Pallas Capital’s business, and we are thrilled to have him onboard. We knew that we needed the right person to lead Pallas Capital’s lending team, and Steve’s reputation in the industry was one we could not look past.”

“At Pallas Capital, we are committed to assisting those who are under-served in the current market. The construction market in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne continues to grow at a fast rate, and Pallas Capital will continue to support the booming property sector in Australia through our diversified funding strategy. The certainty our lending clients have in our service and product is what drives our customer loyalty and steadily growing loan book, and I know that with Steve at the helm, the quality of our client relationships will only continue to grow,” Mr. Gallen said.

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Steve Lawrence

Credit Specialist La Trobe Financial announced that it has extended the loan terms available on commercial lending products to 25 years. This includes La Trobe Financial’s commercial SMSF product.

Mr Steve Lawrence, Executive Head of Credit-Commercial Lending at La Trobe Financial stated that “the long term, P&I servicing loan profile is significant in complementing the breadth of the commercial lending program. La Trobe Financial knows that in order to be a ‘one stop shop’ for specialist commercial lending, its fundamental to be able to offer a product range covering all of the typical deals brokers see.”

The product is particularly relevant for loans relating to commercial securities intended to be held long term such as warehouses, light industrial, offices, retail shops and mixed use. La Trobe Financial is offering the 25 year term as a standard option on both its commercial SMSF loan product and on all loan products where the security is owner occupied, however Steve adds that “with this extension in place, brokers are now welcome to discuss all scenarios with us to understand our flexibility in shaping deals to meet their requirements”.

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