Nuveen Real Estate Names Nick Evans Head of Asia Pacific

Property investment manager Nuveen Real Estate has appointed Nick Evans as its permanent head of Asia Pacific, after the Sydney-based executive had led the firm’s APAC platform on an interim basis for four months, according to a company spokesperson.

Evans had stepped up to the role temporarily following the departure in July of Nuveen Real Estate’s managing director for Asia Pacific, Chris Reilly.

“The Asia Pacific region remains a core focus for Nuveen Real Estate’s global growth aspirations,” a Nuveen spokesperson said in a statement. “With commercial real estate debt, retail, office and housing investments across Asia Pacific, we have a growing portfolio, representing over $3 billion, across the region.”

In his now-permanent role, Evans heads Nuveen’s Asia Pacific real estate leadership team, which comprises head of product and solutions for Asia Pacific, Carsten Kebbedies; fund Manager for the Asia Pacific Cities Fund, Louise Kavanagh; director of development for Asia Pacific, Joe Magrath; and head of finance for Asia Pacific, Kirsten Farrelly.

Evans will remain based in Sydney, and will visit regional offices on a regular basis.

The appointment comes just under a year after TH Real Estate was rebranded as Nuveen Real Estate to reflect the firm’s status as the property investment arm of TIAA-controlled investment management giant Nuveen. The rebranding seems to have consolidated an already existing Nuveen real estate division, which Louise Kavanagh had been appointed to head up at the end of 2017.

Making the Step Up from Head of Australia

Before the company rebrand in January, Evans had served as head of TH Real Estate (Australia) for over five and a half years, after being appointed to the position in 2014.

Prior to that, the Loughborough University graduate had served as an executive director for Australia at Henderson Global Investors, which became part of TH Real Estate in 2014, following over six and a half years as a fund manager for Henderson’s €900 million ($997 million) flagship European open-ended property vehicle.

UK-based Henderson Global Investors had held a 40 percent stake in TH Real Estate – then known as TIAA-Henderson – until US finance giant TIAA-CREF bought Henderson’s stake in the joint venture for £80 million ($98 million) in 2015.

Evans has received the formal promotion as the company, which has $129 billion in assets under management globally, continues to grow its presence in Asia Pacific.

“We have achieved significant success in this region over the past five years,” a Nuveen spokesperson said. “Office openings in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Japan, an expansion into Korea, the launch of an Australian debt platform, and several key hires across the region have strengthened our local infrastructure and scale.”

Building a Presence in Asia Pacific

Just three months ago, the firm’s Asia Pacific Cities Fund made its second acquisition, acquiring a newly developed logistics facility in Greater Seoul for an undisclosed amount.

In November 2018, the real estate investment manager – then still known as TH Real Estate – launched the $2 billion open-end core property fund, with an initial co-investment by the manager’s parent company, Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA).

The fourth in the firm’s “global resilient cities series”, which targets “future-proof” Asia Pacific cities, the fund was seeded with a Sydney office project, acquired from local developer Built for A$180 million ($121 million). The 7,900 square metre (85,000 square foot) heritage project at 183-185 Clarence Street is under development.

In 2016, together with Gaw Capital and German insurance giant Allianz Group, TH Real Estate set up a joint venture fund targeting high-end outlet malls across China.

According to Nuveen’s website, the firm’s Asia Pacific real estate portfolio consists of six multi-family housing assets in Tokyo and six retail assets in Greater China across six cities including Shanghai, Hong Kong and Guangzhou.