Sector developments and company hires

Asia Pacific
ISDA has appointed Su Yen Chia as its new head of Asia-Pacific public policy. Chia previously served as alternate chief executive for Euroclear Bank (Hong Kong branch) from June 2017. In this role, she played an integral part in developing policy positions and interacting with regulatory and government authorities across the Asia-Pacific region. Prior to Euroclear, Chia was head of government relations Asia-Pacific for Barclays Bank, having begun her public policy career with Credit Suisse in Singapore. She will be based in Hong Kong and reports to Steven Kennedy, global head of public policy at ISDA.

EMEA
Leadenhall Capital Partners has reorganised its life and alternative credit team into three units, each reporting to ceo Luca Albertini. A new origination unit will be headed by Tom Spreutels, who was previously head of FIG corporate banking EMEA at Deutsche Bank; a portfolio management unit will be headed by Craig Gillespie, who is head of life and alternative credit portfolio management; and a credit analysis and control unit will be headed by Phil Kane, who is responsible for the assessment and monitoring of all new investments made by the team. Kane and Spreutels have also joined the firm’s relevant investment committees, while Leadenhall USA md Brian Weatherholtz has joined Leadenhall’s investment committee for life business. Separately, after over 10 years at Leadenhall, deputy cio Dan Knipe has agreed a transition plan with the firm’s management that involves him establishing a new entity backed by a financial sponsor and engaged in high return lending activity outside the traditional ILS asset management business. He will be with Leadenhall in 1Q20 and thereafter will continue to have ties with the firm through a formal cooperation framework on the existing portfolio and on some future investments.

Joe Kohler has joined Reed Smith’s financial industry group and will provide strategic advice to the firm’s banking clients, including across the structured finance and derivatives products sectors. Kohler previously served as md, legal, corporate and investment banking at Deutsche Bank. In that role, he co-led the bank’s sales and trading legal function globally, with deep transactional experience across the fixed income, currencies and commodities businesses.

Hospital CMBS to repay
The Theatre (Hospitals) No. 1 and No. 2 CMBS deals are expected to be repaid in full on the January note payment date, following the sale of BMI Healthcare and related securitisation Propcos to Alabama-based REIT Medical Properties Trust (MPT). The transaction involves the acquisition of 30 acute care hospital facilities located throughout the UK for an aggregate purchase price of approximately £1.5bn. The facilities are leased under long-term inflation protected net leases to affiliates of BMI Healthcare. Concurrently, affiliates of successful MPT tenant Circle Health will assume operations of BMI’s 52 facilities in the UK and has committed to a multi-million pound programme of investment in facility infrastructure, technology and resources as part of the transaction. The acquisition was underwritten by MPT to provide initial lease payment coverages of approximately 2x recent EBITDAR, with the expectation of expanding coverage as Circle implements its strategic and operational initiatives. The hospitals will be leased under a master lease structure guaranteed by Circle, with an initial fixed term of 30 years, two five-year extension options and annual rent escalators linked to UK CPI.

Morgan loan resolved
The US$44m Reserve At Southpointe loan, securitised in the FREMF 2016-K57 CMBS, was removed from special servicing last month. The property was one of the 20 Morgan Communities properties cited in the recent fraud case and was included in the JV between Morgan Properties and Morgan Communities (SCI 24 September). The loan was transferred to special servicing in March 2019, according to Morgan Stanley CMBS analysts, but 100% of the ownership interest in the borrower entity was transferred to a newly-formed joint venture - MP KofP JV - between the existing interest holders of the borrowing entity (indirectly owned by Robert Morgan and his family members) and Morgan Properties KofP Investor in October.