Property investment manager Nuveen has raised over A$400 million (about $257 million) in the first close of its first commingled Australian commercial real estate debt strategy, according to an announcement.
The first close secured commitments from US financial services firm Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA) and Singapore state investor Temasek, per the announcement.
The strategy, which leverages Nuveen Real Estate’s global debt platform, focuses on institutional senior and junior secured real estate loan investments in Australia.
It will primarily look at the industrial, logistics, and residential sectors, with a selective approach to retail, office, and alternatives across major cities in the country, Nuveen said.
Nuveen’s latest debt strategy is led by Dugald Marr, head of Debt Australia & New Zealand, together with a team with a track record of originating and structuring high-quality loan investments in this market.
“Our focus is institutional borrowers, conservative lending parameters, and prime assets or projects in sectors that benefit most from Australia’s high population growth and limited supply,” Marr said.
Nuveen, the investment manager of TIAA, has $1.3 trillion in assets under management as of September 30, 2024, and operations in 27 countries. Nuveen Real Estate, on the other hand, is one of the largest investment managers in the world with $143 billion of assets under management as of September 30, 2024.
In April, Nuveen raised $150.4 million from US investors for its latest climate inclusion fund.
In 2020, the firm also launched the $400-million Nuveen Global Impact Fund, which seeks to drive positive change in two critical sustainable development challenges — inclusive growth and resource efficiency.
Early this month, Nuveen backed the $30-million debt-cum-equity financing in climate-focused deeptech company Ecozen, which is expanding its market presence into Africa and Southeast Asia.
In Asia, Nuveen’s Asia Pacific Cities Fund focuses on 17 principal and progressive cities across the region, including Tokyo, Sydney, Brisbane, Singapore, and Seoul. The fund primarily invests in office, retail, industrial, and residential assets.
“We believe Nuveen’s offering across real assets more broadly is well-positioned to help clients across Asia navigate volatility alongside managing their responsible investment goals,” said Gracee Teo, head of Southeast Asia Institutional at Nuveen.
