Non-bank lender Pallas Capital has hired listed rival Qualitas’ Dean Winterton as group head of institutional capital, a newly created role.
Winterton had held the same role at real estate investment manager Qualitas since July 2022 after a stint as a joint managing director at real estate boutique Chauvel Capital Partners.
His resume spans raising capital, managing investment relationships and developing investment platforms across Australia, Asia, Europe, North America and the Middle East.
Pallas chief investment officer Dan Gallen said Winterton’s arrival coincides with the firm’s push to build stronger ties with institutional investors wanting exposure to private credit and alternative real estate strategies.
Global demand for private credit has soared in recent years, but the sector is undergoing a reckoning after the spectacular collapse of residential property developer Bathla in August.
“As institutional investors continue to increase allocations to private credit and seek experienced specialist managers, we believe Pallas Capital is well positioned to capture that opportunity,” Gallen said.
The new recruit’s mandate includes building relationships across pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, insurers and other large capital partners in Australia and offshore.
“As capital availability becomes more constrained across parts of the market, investors are able to access stronger risk-return dynamics and partner with experienced managers capable of identifying and actively managing opportunity,” Winterton said.
The 10-year-old company has written $11.6 billion in loans through its lending vehicles across 1400 transactions. It manages more than 450 investments, totalling $5 billion.