M&G real estate finance lead leaves

Head of real estate finance at M&G Investments, John Barakat, is leaving the business. Barakat has led the firm’s real estate finance team since 2008, joining the business from Goldman Sachs. He will be replaced by Duncan Batty and Dan Riches, who will become co-heads of the 17-strong real estate finance team within M&G’s £67.2bn private and alternative assets division. M&G said the team was one of the largest new lenders to emerge since the global financial crisis, adding that it had deployed some £1.6bn into the market during 2020. Batty joined M&G in 2011 and has been involved in the establishment and management of commingled funds and segregated accounts. He has some five years’ experience in the real estate finance industry. Riches has more than 20 years’ experience in real estate and finance and joined M&G in 2010 to focus on the origination and execution of transactions. During 2020, Riches led on close to £1bn of transactions, including the £303m loan for the acquisition of 1 & 2 New Ludgate in the City of London – one of the largest deals in the UK market in 2020. William Nicoll, chief investment officer of private and alternative assets at M&G, said: “John founded our real estate finance strategy in 2009 and established a market-leading team – he leaves with our thanks for his contribution over the past decade. In Duncan and Dan we have two astute investors who will lead this team through its next phase by further internationalising our origination capability to reflect growing investor demand, deepening our relationships with existing sponsors and selecting transactions that are designed to provide our investors with the secured income, good relative value and sustainability credentials that we believe the asset class has to offer.” To send feedback, e-mail samantha.mcclary@egi.co.uk or tweet @samanthamcclary or @estatesgazette