JLL appoints Fergal Harris to lead Australia capital markets team
Real estate firm strengthens investor services capabilities amid robust transaction volumes
SINGAPORE, 23 January 2020 – Global real estate consultancy JLL has appointed Fergal Harris as the Head of Australia Capital Markets, bolstering the team’s capabilities in one of Asia Pacific’s key markets.
Mr Harris, who starts his new role in February, will relocate from Singapore to Sydney. His new responsibilities will focus on strengthening client relationships and developing new business lines, in addition to his existing regional responsibilities of leading the firm’s debt and financial advisory team.
“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,” says Mr Stuart Crow, CEO, Capital Markets, JLL Asia Pacific.
He adds: “Asia Pacific, specifically Australia, continues to draw investor interest globally. Fergal brings a wealth of real estate finance experience and his knowledge will help our clients access greater cross-border opportunities that add value to their portfolios.”
According to JLL, Australia remains high on the radar of investors, specifically its office sector that attracted close to 63 per cent of cross-border investment in Q4 last year. Driven mostly by large-scale transactions such as Blackstone’s US$1.1 billion acquisition of Scentre Group’s office portfolio, overseas capital inflows to Australia are 10 per cent higher in the first three quarters of 2019 than the same period in 2018, with over US$5 billion invested by foreign investors.
Stephen Conry, CEO, JLL Australia adds: “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. As our clients increasingly work across asset classes and across borders, they require consistent and timely advice. We believe that Fergal’s experience will add further weight behind what is already an outstanding capital markets offering to our clients.”
Mr Harris joined the global real estate firm in May 2017 as Head of Debt Advisory for Asia Pacific. Prior to JLL, he worked in Standard Chartered Bank and First Abu Dhabi Bank. Mr Harris has over 25 years of experience in real estate banking, spanning public and private debt and equity transactions in the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, China and Australia.
About JLL
JLL (NYSE: JLL) is a leading professional services firm that specializes in real estate and investment management. Our vision is to reimagine the world of real estate, creating rewarding opportunities and amazing spaces where people can achieve their ambitions. In doing so, we will build a better tomorrow for our clients, our people and our communities. JLL is a Fortune 500 company with annual revenue of $16.3 billion, operations in over 80 countries and a global workforce of more than 93,000 as of September 30, 2019. JLL is the brand name, and a registered trademark, of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated. For further information, visit jll.com.