Non-bank corporate lender Metrics Credit Partners has made several new appointments, including Ben Evans as investment director.
Ben Evans, former director of Debt Advisory at JLL, would be based in Sydney and focus on commercial real estate transactions.
Evans had over 16 years’ experience, with specialist property expertise spanning a decade and prior to his role at JLL, he held senior roles at Pepper Financial Services Group, BNW Group and National Australia Bank.
Other appointments in the investment team included David Owen and Edra Tong, who joined as investment analysts, and Harrison Murdoch and Anthony Helman, who joined as investment associates.
Andrew Lockhart, Metrics managing partner, said Evans brought a wealth of experience that would help the firm further strengthen its offering to investors and borrowers.
“The appointments are timely as we continue to see demand for funding from a range of corporates and commercial real estate borrowers as the economy reboots from the COVID-19 related downturn. The opportunity for non-bank lenders continues to grow in the Australian and New Zealand markets,” Lockhart said.
Other senior hires across the business included Stephen Nash, as director market strategy; and Felicity Cornforth, as Legal Counsel. Both were based in the Sydney office.
Nash joined from Vision Super where he was a senior market strategist, and before that was chief investment officer at Nambawan Super and PacWealth Capital, and was head of fixed income and cash at State Street Global Investors.
Cornforth had over 15 years’ experience and joined from Pepper Group, she also held senior roles at Minter Ellison and DLA Piper.
Lockhart said Nash brought extensive asset allocation and macroeconomic expertise, while Cornworth brough additional depth of expertise to its legal team.
“The latest string of appointments reiterates the growth in the sector and increased demand from investors,” Lockhart said.
“With reliable income highly sought after, Australian corporate loans are proving to be one of the few asset classes that offer both capital preservation and attractive risk-adjusted returns.”
