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JLL bolsters debt team with executive appointment

David Barry has joined the consultancy as a senior director from rival BNP Paribas Real Estate and will focus on investors active in the UK, especially the Central London market.

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JLL has further strengthened its debt advisory unit with the hiring of David Barry from BNP Paribas Real Estate.

In his new role, Barry will arrange debt for investor clients active in the UK, especially in the Central London market, in which he is a specialist.

Barry will serve domestic and international investor clients in a market which continues to attract high levels of investment. In 2017, Central London offices attracted £17.4 billion (€19.5 billion), with JLL reporting that it advised on 32 percent of all deals.

Chris Holmes, who runs JLL’s European debt advisory practice, said the appointment will help the firm to meet increasing client demand for advice on financing. “The changing lending environment, rising interest rates and more diverse sources of capital mean that clients are increasingly relying on our advice to help them identify the best value and most competitive financing strategies for their investments,” Holmes said.

Barry, who joins JLL as a senior director, has 20 years of experience in investment banking, corporate finance and real estate. By JLL’s reckoning, he has arranged more than £12 billion (€13.5 billion) of transactions across the UK, continental European and US markets.

During his five-year stint at BNP Paribas Real Estate, Barry was most recently head of debt advisory as well as head of US and Canadian investors. His previous jobs have included: managing director at The Carlton Group in New York; acquisitions partner at Duke House Asset Managers; and investment manager at Davy, a European real estate private equity firm.

JLL has steadily increased its debt advisory capacity in recent years through hiring directors with investment banking and corporate finance backgrounds. Last October, Chris Gow joined to lead the EMEA debt advisory specialism within its hotels and hospitality group. Prior to that, Ben Roger-Smith joined as head of structured finance in EMEA from HSBC.

“The UK – especially London – continues to attract both debt and equity capital from across the globe. London was the world’s top investment destination last year, and we anticipate this will continue through 2018,” commented Alistair Meadows, head of UK capital markets at JLL.