MIRA loses senior exec after sale of ADIA’s retail portfolio

The real estate veteran, who spent 17 years at the Australian firm, was heavily involved in building its China retail business.

Andrew Taylor, senior managing director at Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets, has stepped down from his role after spending 17 years at the Australian firm, PERE can reveal exclusively.

MIRA declined to comment on Taylor’s departure or who his replacement will be.

Based in Hong Kong, the real estate veteran had his last day at the office last week, PERE understands. His departure comes just after he completed the divestment of a retail portfolio in China on behalf of sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Investment Authority in May. Four of the five malls in the portfolio were managed and developed over the past five to six years by Pradera Retail Asia, a joint venture between MIRA and UK-based Pradera. The four malls are located in Shanghai, Chongqing, Xi’an and Qingdao. Last month, Brookfield Asset Management agreed to buy the portfolio for $1.4 billion after it had been in the market for about a year.

Since joining Macquarie in 2004, Taylor had been responsible for MIRA’s real estate business in Asia and was heavily involved in the firm’s development and launch of its China retail business. In 2006, he oversaw the launch of the Macquarie Wanda Real Estate Fund, a joint venture between Macquarie Group and Chinese property developer Dalian Wanda, according to his Urban Land Institute speaker bio. He led the acquisitions for the venture and raised equity and debt for the portfolio. After MWREF was stabilized and sold, he established Macquarie China Retail Company in partnership with ADIA in 2011 to invest and develop retail properties in China.

Apart from his involvement in the firm’s retail business, Taylor also participated in MIRA’s investments across different sectors. For example, he sat on the boards of listed and unlisted real estate funds including Macquarie Goodman Asia and Macquarie MEAG Prime REIT.