Wayne Lasky

MaxCap Group’s flagship commercial real estate debt vehicle, the MaxCap Investment Trust (MIT), has reached $1 billion in funds under management, a milestone reflecting broad-based adoption from pension funds, insurance companies, wealth management groups and family offices.

The milestone comes as MIT’s First Mortgage Fund recently secured a A$75 million investment from Apollo-managed funds or accounts, alongside an Investment-Grade rating from leading Australian research house Lonsec within two years since MIT’s inception.

“MIT’s product attributes are based solely on direct investor feedback – most notably consistent monthly liquidity, reliable distributions and portfolio diversification with strong downside protection,” said Wayne Lasky, Executive Chairman and Co-founder of MaxCap Group. “As MIT continues on its strong growth trajectory, we expect increasing institutional engagement, as investors continue to seek strategies that can provide diversification benefits with lower concentration risk and target attractive risk-adjusted returns.”

MIT’s First Mortgage Fund has delivered a 11.05 per cent net return for the 12 months to 31 May 2025, while the High Yield Fund achieved a 11.87 per cent net return over the same period. MIT maintains a diversified portfolio of more than 80 loans backed by real assets across eight geographies and seven property sectors.

Over the past two decades, MaxCap Group has established itself as a major non-bank player in the Australasian commercial real estate sector, including being the first to secure an institutional mandate in 2011. With non-banks currently providing around 18 per cent of commercial real estate debt in Australia, compared to around 62 per cent in the US, MaxCap Group sees a significant expansion opportunity to further capitalise on the global shift toward private assets and, more specifically, real estate-backed private credit^[1].

“We believe MIT is particularly well-positioned in Australia’s living sector, where our first mortgage debt positions lean into what we see as a once-in-a-generation undersupply of housing. This is helping to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns, while also providing investors with monthly distributions and liquidity that they value”, said Rob Hattersley, Group Head of Capital at MaxCap Group.

“As the funding gap created by bank regulation continues to grow, we’re seeing increasing quality in both sponsors and deal flow. High-quality developers who previously relied on bank financing alone are now seeking a more flexible, patient capital approach – creating better opportunities for our investors.”

Despite rapid growth, MaxCap Group maintains disciplined underwriting and continues to focus on senior debt which represents around 85 per cent of its total loan book today. MaxCap Group also maintains one of Australasia’s largest specialist real estate debt origination teams outside of the major banks, enabling the fund manager to generate a significant origination pipeline.

MIT provides access to diversified Australasian commercial real estate loans through two options:

• First Mortgage Fund: targeting RBA + 5 per cent p.a. (11.05 per cent net return to May 2025)
• High Yield Fund: targeting RBA + 8 per cent p.a. (11.87 per cent net return to May 2025)
• Both MIT funds offer monthly distributions and redemptions, with underlying origination fees shared at least 50 per cent with investors, providing strong alignment. They also adhere to strict concentration limits by sponsor, sector, geography and investment type.

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Chris Newton

MaxCap Group Australia’s leading real estate investment manager has appointed Chris Newton to its ESG Advisory Committee (EAC).

The EAC was established in 2021 by MaxCap Group’s Board to support the development and advancement of its ESG strategy across the MaxCap Group business. It consists of members from diverse disciplines including experts in responsible investment practices and climate change.

Chris is a leading practitioner in Responsible Investment and brings technical skillsets and insights to the design and delivery of ESG and Responsible Investment strategy. He has led the Global ESG strategy for IFM one of Australia’s largest fund managers, and has worked across multiple asset classes – including listed entities, real assets, fixed income, and private equity.

Commenting on his appointment Wayne Lasky, Executive Chairman said “We are delighted to welcome another very high-calibre professional to our EAC. Chris is a leading ESG strategist and execution specialist and is highly regarded in the investment community.”

His work has been recognised by both Global and Domestic Institutional Investor bodies, including the Principles of Responsible Investment (PRI), the Australian Council for Superannuation Investors, and the Investor Group for Climate Change.

Whilst at IFM Investors, Chris was a member of the Investment Committee and established the Board Committee for Responsible Investment and Sustainability – which oversaw over $50 billion of direct investment acquisitions and the design of IFM Investors’ Responsible Investment Strategy. This experience was complimented by several appointments to global working groups – including as Chair of the Paris Aligned Investment Initiative for Real Assets (UK), Chair of the Human Rights Working Group at the PRI, and as a foundation advisor on the Global Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative.

Recently, Chris has been appointed as the Chair of the Investment Committee for the Traditional Owner Organisation representing the commercial assets and enterprises of the Yawuru people in Broome Western Australia. He also serves as an Independent Director and member of the Audit and Risk Committee of Westernport Water in Victoria.

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Rob will lead MaxCap’s Capital team and will be responsible for raising capital for MaxCap’s existing funds and mandates and working closely with MaxCap’s Investment team to raise capital for new products across both debt and equity investments.

Rob has been involved in the real estate and funds management industry in Australia for more than 30 years. He joins from AMP Capital where he was Chief Investment Officer for its Real Estate division. Prior to AMP, Rob was at Lendlease for over 21 years and for the last 6 years acted as the Group Chief Investment Officer. At Lendlease he was responsible for managing capital relationships, equity raising, and reducing product and investor risk to Lendlease Group and its joint venture partners. Rob had been a director of the Lendlease Real Estate Investment Trustee Board for over 10 years. Before Lendlease he worked for Mirvac for more than a decade as a Director of Investments.

Commenting on his appointment, MaxCap Executive Chairman Wayne Lasky said “I am delighted to welcome Rob to our talented executive team. He has an exemplary track record and shares our unequivocal focus on delivering lasting value for our investor clients. Rob will play a pivotal role executing and enhancing our capital strategy, leading our high-performance capital raising team and delivering best in class service to local and global investors alike. There is no finer capital raising executive in Australia and we look forward to joining forces to deliver superior returns for our investment partners.”

On joining MaxCap, Mr Hattersley said “I am thrilled to be joining MaxCap, a leading Commercial Real Estate investment manager and Australia’s preeminent commercial non-bank lender. This is such an exciting time for the industry and the sector which is particularly well positioned at a challenging time in the real asset pricing cycle to deliver attractive risk adjusted returns to an increasingly engaged investor market. I look forward to working closely with the whole MaxCap team as we expand on the excellent track record delivered to date.”

Rob will report to Wayne Lasky and starts in his new role on 2 September 2022 based in Sydney.

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Wayne Lasky

Apollo Global Management, Inc., (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, “Apollo”) has announced that clients managed by its affiliates have entered into a definitive agreement to acquire up to a 50% equity stake in MaxCap Group (“MaxCap” or the “Company”), a leading Australasian commercial real estate (“CRE”) financier and fund manager.

Founded in 2007, MaxCap is ranked No. 1 in CRE Debt* in the Australian marketplace and is headquartered in Melbourne. Following completion of the deal, MaxCap co-Founders Wayne Lasky and Brae Sokolski will continue to lead the company and retain the remaining shareholdings.

The strategic investment will align MaxCap with one of the world’s leading asset managers and enable the business to continue its rapid growth in Australia and New Zealand. The transaction is expected to bolster MaxCap’s access to capital and strengthen its ability to create and deliver innovative lending solutions for borrowers alongside Apollo’s leading credit platform. MaxCap expects to generate significant investment opportunities for its clients, and today has a forward pipeline of more than A$6 billion.

Since its founding, the Company has had a strong track record of performance across more than 450 investments totaling more than A$11 billion. For Apollo and its clients, the investment extends the firm’s reach into Australasia – an attractive market with significant growth in lending opportunities. Currently, Apollo originates commercial real estate debt and equity solutions across North America, Europe and Asia, and through this transaction expects to increase its activity in Australasia.

Wayne Lasky, MaxCap’s Co-Founder and Managing Director said, “We are driven to deliver the highest quality and broadest array of investment opportunities for our clients. This transaction is a key aspect of fulfilling our promise of creating lasting value for them. We look forward to achieving that by leveraging Apollo’s extensive industry expertise, coupled with the capital firepower they bring to the table. This will further enable us to provide compelling solutions for every commercial real estate sector at every stage of the real estate life cycle, and we’re thrilled to join forces with such a highly respected global manager.”

Mr. Lasky emphasised how MaxCap has created a market leading platform and built a high-quality Australasian team. “This partnership is a watershed moment and a key component of our team’s long-term strategic plan. Now we are looking forward to the next phase of MaxCap’ s growth and to delivering further client value together with a partner who shares our vision and strategy,” he said.

Apollo Co-President Scott Kleinman said, “Australia presents significant long-term opportunities for Apollo and we’re thrilled to strategically partner with MaxCap, a leader in the non-bank real estate lending space with a standout reputation. This is an exciting opportunity to expand our origination capabilities, support the strong management team and together leverage our highly complementary platforms and expertise.”

Philip Mintz, Senior Partner, Real Estate at Apollo said, “MaxCap is an industry leader and we’re excited to provide capital and strategic support to help accelerate their business and increase our activity in Australia. The company’s strong track record of origination, its market positioning in Australia and New Zealand, and its performance have made them a partner of choice for investors and borrowers alike. Together we see significant opportunity ahead as the non-bank real estate credit market continues to grow in the region.”

Mr. Mintz noted that the Apollo funds’ investment in MaxCap was the latest extension of its investment origination platforms. It follows a recently announced transaction with Foundation Home Loans, a specialist UK mortgage lender, as well as a strategic agreement with Victory Park Capital in the US to invest in asset-backed credit facilities for emerging companies. Apollo’s strategy to build, buy, and partner with proprietary origination platforms enhances the firm’s ability to source and structure investments for its insurance and institutional clients.

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Wayne Lasky

MaxCap is pleased to announce that it has been certified as a Carbon Neutral organisation by Climate Active for its business operations.

The certification is recognition of our efforts to embed carbon reduction initiatives across our operating business including by offsetting carbon emissions. It reflects MaxCap’s increasing focus on sustainability which is a natural extension of our disciplined approach to risk management and our purpose which is to create lasting value for our clients.

Wayne Lasky, Co-Founder and Managing Director said “Becoming carbon neutral is a commitment to enhancing the sustainability of our operations and raising awareness about the impacts of climate change across the markets within which we operate. We are focused on ensuring the long-term resilience and success of our business and making a positive contribution to the communities in which we operate and the environment at large.”

The MaxCap team were particularly keen to invest in a local offset project that provides economic, social and environmental benefits to Amhem Land community in the Northern Territories as well as reducing emissions. Amhem Land Fire Abatement (ALFA) is an entirely Aboriginal-owned, not-forprofit carbon farming business created by Aboriginal Traditional Owners in Amhem Land to support their engagement with the carbon industry. AFLA currently supports five fire projects across an area of over 80,000km². This project involves strategic and planned burning of savanna areas in the high rainfall zone during the early dry season to reduce the risk of late dry season wild fires.

We are pleased to support this non-for-profit which provides local employment and preserves our indigenous culture and the environment.

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The specialist debt financier has entered the direct investment space with MaxCap leaders, Wayne Lasky and Brae Sokolski saying the strength in the commercial release estate sector gave room for further offerings and expansion.

They see the timing as now right to selectively participate in direct investment. This is coupled with investor demand for higher yielding investment opportunities to complement their existing focus on senior and structured debt portfolios within MaxCap Group.

“We are a highly specialised investment house with a specific focus on Australia and New Zealand Commercial Real Estate,” said Wayne Lasky, MaxCap Co-founder and Managing Director. “Working with trusted developers as a passive joint venture capital partner is a logical step for us at this point in time.”

Mr Lasky said that MaxCap’s investors were wanting to see a greater breadth of investment opportunities.

“So alongside MaxCap’s mainstream debt business, we are also providing direct investment opportunities as the timing is right in terms of returns. Our goal is to build our direct investment business to be 10% of the Group’s activities over the next three years.”

Mr Lasky noted that MaxCap Group specialises in commercial real estate debt funding and had originated and managed approximately A$8billion worth of loans since it was established in 2007.

“Looking back over the last decade, we have been grateful to receive strong support from our investors, backing our innovation and benefiting from strong first mover advantages,” he said. “In 2010, we developed the largest mezzanine book in our market after identifying structural change and subsequently introducing institutional capital – and followed this up in the senior debt space a few years later when we could see regulatory intervention open up opportunities to achieve strong risk adjusted-returns.”

In 2019, MaxCap has crossed the Tasman to establish JV operations in New Zealand, and in response to recent market dynamics, has now added a direct investment capability.

Direct investment

Speaking to the direct investment business, Mr Sokolski referenced the recent appointment of Simon Hulett, ex Charter Hall, who will head that business.

“Simon will lead the development and execution of MaxCap’s direct investment strategy nationally and originate opportunities across all asset classes,” said Mr Sokolski.

He noted that MaxCap had been highly selective in how it had entered the equity investment market, taking joint venture positions in high quality development projects across commercial, residential, hotels, offices, and industrial real estate sectors.

“Each of these is underpinned by strong market fundamentals and experienced development partners,” he said. “We’re also keen observers of where capital is flowing. In 2019, in equity capital markets we’ve seen much less inbound capital for non-institutional grade development and that’s created an “opportunity gap” in the Australian market for local investment.”

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Mr van Beek will be based initially in Singapore and will commence his role in mid-August. He will be responsible for capital raising with institutional and private investor clients on a global basis.

He has a deep understanding of real estate as an asset class with more than 15 years’ industry experience across the Asia-Pacific region. His career commenced at Colliers and CBRE and he has spent the last decade in capital raising and investment related roles for Aberdeen Asset Management and more recently at UBS Asset Management.

At UBS, he was Executive Director, Real Estate & Private Markets, Asia Pacific based in Singapore. In this role, he was responsible for institutional and private fund-raising activities, equity and debt, covering both direct and multi-manager strategies implemented through comingled funds, separate accounts, club deals and joint ventures.

Commenting on his appointment, Mr Wayne Lasky Managing Director said “I am delighted to welcome Chris to our talented executive team. He will play a pivotal role in our growth strategy, leveraging our pristine track record with some of the largest domestic and global institutional and semi institutional investors.”

Mr van Beek said “I am looking forward to bringing Australian CRE Debt opportunities to international institutional investors. MaxCap is an established lender of choice and provides access to sustainable risk- adjusted returns through a range of investment options depending on risk appetite and investment profile.”

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