M&G has appointed Duncan Batty as head of real estate finance, a business that has deployed more than £14bn across Europe.

Batty returns to M&G, where he spent 12 years, latterly as co-head of real estate finance. He joins from Revolut, where he was head of commercial real estate lending.

“Duncan’s combination of deep real estate credit expertise, longstanding client relationships and valuable external experience makes him exceptionally well placed to lead the business,” said Martin Towns, global head of M&G Real Estate, to whom Batty will report.

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Launched in 2009, M&G’s real estate finance business has deployed capital on behalf of 100 institutional investors. M&G Real Estate invests across sectors and the risk spectrum, through both equity and debt strategies, in UK, European and Asia-Pacific property markets.

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“I’m delighted to be returning to M&G and to lead the real estate finance business at an important point in the market cycle,” said Batty.

“As banks have retrenched from parts of the market and a significant refinancing requirement comes through, there is a real opportunity for experienced alternative lenders to provide the capital borrowers need while giving institutional clients access to attractive risk-adjusted returns.”

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