Savills eyes Asia property debt advisory business

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Savills Japan said on Wednesday it plans to broaden its business from real estate management and consulting to helping clients restructure their debt as part of a global push into providing financial advisory.

The firm has hired former Citigroup (C.N) executive Kelly Hayes to head an Asia corporate finance team in Tokyo and is looking to recruit one or two more bankers with experience in handling real estate transactions, Savills Japan CEO Chris Mancini said at the Reuters Global Real Estate Summit.

"Today, given the very challenging debt environment, having a guy who's familiar with how the banks operate will help us do our work better," he said, adding that parent firm Savills (SVS.L) has already set up similar units in New York and London.

Mancini said the corporate finance team led by Hayes, who previously headed real estate corporate finance at Citigroup in Tokyo, will advise Asian clients on debt restructuring, fund-raising and managing non-performing loans.

The corporate finance unit will also help market property-related debt and equity.

Mancini said real estate transactions in Japan could rise sharply in coming years as 95 percent of commercial property was held by corporate, family offices and wealthy individuals, unlike in many developed countries where property funds were the dominant players.

(For summit blog: blogs.reuters.com/summits/)

(Reporting by Kevin Lim; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)