John Ratcliffe will serve in the newly created position, working with the senior management team to develop the business’ pan-Asian and Australian real estate platform covering both equity and debt. He will report to Charles Weeks, head of Europe and Asia-Pacific real estate equity.
“Our real estate activities in Asia have traditionally focused on working with our clients to deploy capital into the [US] and Europe,” Mr Weeks said. “By having John join the firm we are now building the capability to invest locally. Initially, his focus will be on Australia to deploy debt and equity into one of the world’s most transparent, liquid and open markets, as well as Japan, another highly sophisticated and professional real estate market.”
Mr Ratcliffe joins Barings from Challenger Real Estate, where he spent 12 years as executive director of transactions and capital raising. He previously worked in asset management at Niecon Developments, an Australian high-end residential and mixed-use developer. He has led more than 65 institutional transactions worth more than $3.5 billion across all sectors in the APAC region.
“Barings is a highly reputable global firm with strong ambitions to grow its real estate business in the [Asia-Pacific] region, building on the successful and well-established platforms it has in the [US] and Europe,” Mr Ratcliffe said. “I look forward to hitting the ground running in sourcing new investment opportunities, focusing first on Australia and Japan and then more broadly across other Asian territories.”
