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JLL appoints Fergal Harris as head of Australia capital markets

/ EdgeProp Singapore |

January 24, 2020 4:18 PM SGT

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SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - Fergal Harris has been appointed as JLL’s head of Australia capital markets, and will begin his new role next month. The global real estate consultancy says that this appointment will bolster its capabilities in one of Asia Pacific’s key real estate markets.

Stephen Conry, CEO of JLL Australia, says: “Our Australian capital markets business has achieved substantial growth across office, retail and industrial sectors, as well as growing our specialisation in alternative asset classes and debt finance.”

JLL says that Australia remains prominent on investors’ radar, specifically its office sector which attracted close to 63% of cross-border investment last quarter. The sector is primarily driven by large-scale transactions such as Blackstone’s acquisition of Scentre Group’s office portfolio for US$1.1 billion ($1.48 billion).

In addition, the consultancy reported that overseas capital inflows to Australia were 10% higher in the first three quarters of 2019, compared to the same period a year ago. Foreign investors pumped in more than US$5 billion from 1Q2019 to 3Q2019.

Fergal Harris has been appointed as JLL’s head of Australia capital markets (Picture: JLL)

In his new role, Harris will focus on strengthening client relationships and developing new business lines, on top on his regional responsibilities in leading the firm’s regional debt and financial advisory team.

Harris, who joined the firm in May 2017 as its head of debt advisory for Asia Pacific, will relocate from Singapore to Sydney for his new appointment. He was previously with Standard Chartered Bank and First Abu Dhabi Bank. He has more than 25 years of experience in real estate banking, spanning private debt and equity transactions in the US, Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, China, and Australia.

Stuart Crow, CEO of capital markets at JLL Asia Pacific, says: “Fergal’s appointment reflects our global capital markets strategy to provide our clients with a broader range of services and deeper insights into local markets. It underscores our focus on expanding our current investment advisory services amid a competitive investment banking environment. This comes at a time when institutional investors are looking to increase their capital allocations to real estate.”

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