TH Real Estate Rebrands as Nuveen Real Estate

Private equity real estate firm TH Real Estate announced today that it is has rebranded as Nuveen Real Estate, reflecting its status as the property investment arm of TIAA-controlled investment management giant Nuveen.

The real estate fund manager, which together with Nuveen manages $125 billion in property assets globally, has been increasingly active in Asia in recent years, having made its first investment in Japan in 2016, and raising a China outlet mall investment fund with Gaw Capital and Allianz.

New Name, Same People

“Although its name has changed, its people and specialist expertise in global real estate remain in place,” a Nuveen spokeperson said in a statement, adding that, “With over 80 years of real estate investment experience and more than 500 employees located across 20 cities throughout the United States, Europe and Asia Pacific, the platform offers a global presence and extensive sector expertise.”

In the APAC region, London-based Nuveen Real Estate is led by Chris Reilly, its Singapore-based Managing Director for Asia Pacific. Nuveen established a Hong Kong office in 2017 and named former Invesco executive Louise Kavanagh, as managing director for real estate in the Asian financial hub.

TH Real Estate, was known as TIAA-Henderson until just a few a few months after TIAA-CREF bought out the 40 percent stake held by its partner, Henderson Global Investors in the London-based investment firm for £80 million ($124.5 million) in April of 2015.

Investing in Malls and Offices in Asia

Since taking full control of the venture, Nuveen in 2016 teamed with Gaw Capital and Allianz to set up a real estate investment fund targetting high-end outlet malls in Greater China. In March of this year the fund reportedly received a 77 billion won ($71 million) investment from the Korean Teachers’ Credit Union (KTCU).

In 2016 TH Real Estate closed on the $82 million purchase of a commercial building in Tokyo’s Ginza district for $82 million, as the UK-based real estate investment house made its first foray into Japan.