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KKR said on Thursday it has named John Pattar as head of its real estate investment business across the Asia Pacific region.
Pattar joins KKR from real estate fund manager CLSA Capital Partners in Hong Kong, where he was the chief executive of CLSA Real Estate.
Pattar’s move comes at a time of growing interest in real estate from global institutional investors.
A survey in January by asset manager BlackRock found 42% of 224 of its institutional clients globally, representing $7.4 trillion in assets, plan to increase their allocation to deals in the private property sector in 2018 in the face of low interest rates.
Apart from scouting the region for attractive properties, he will also help Asian investors access real estate opportunities globally.
“We are focused on continuing to enhance our connectivity with Asian investors seeking to partner with KKR real estate in the United States and Europe,” said Ralph Rosenberg, head of KKR Real Estate, in a statement about the appointment.
Pattar joined CLSA in 2004 and most recently oversaw the operations of Fudo Capital, a collection of property funds targeting real estate investment in Asia Pacific.
He has worked across property investment, development, capital transactions and asset management in Asia for nearly 30 years, in markets including Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.
He worked in Southeast Asia from 1992 to 1997, and from 1998 in Hong Kong covering principally North Asia. He has sourced and completed property deals in Asia of approximately $4.4 billion according to CLSA's website.
Pattar has a Bachelor of Law degree from King’s College, University of London and is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
Since 2011, KKR has committed about $2 billion in equity and debt across more than 40 real estate transactions in Asia Pacific markets including Australia, China, India, Singapore and South Korea, as of March 31. The firm has a dedicated team of approximately 20 professionals based in Asia Pacific spanning both the equity and credit businesses.
