Jones Lang LaSalle has hired Deutsche Pfandbriefbank's European senior director Graeme Parry as new Italian head of debt advisory in anticipation of a surge of distressed debt sales in the market.

Jones Lang LaSalle has hired Deutsche Pfandbriefbank's European senior director Graeme Parry as new Italian head of debt advisory in anticipation of a surge of distressed debt sales in the market.

Parry, of Canadian origin, began his career as credit analyst in Credit Lyonnais, before progressing to senior relationship manager in Aareal Bank in Milan.

He has been working with Hypo Real Estate Bank International since 2005, where he is currently a senior director at the Milan branch and head of Global Work Out & Credit Risk Management, being responsible for Italian origination and involved in the analysis, structuring, and negotiation of real estate financings for Italian based and international clients.

'We believe in the potential of the Italian market,' commented JLL Italy's CEO Pierre Marin. 'To grab its opportunities in full, we are strengthening the debt advisory services.'

Italy is far behind other European countries in the loan sale and deleveraging process which has seen several lenders such as Spain's Sareb, Germany's Commerzbank and Ireland's Nama offload major loan portfolios in the past months.

But as asset quality reviews put more pressure on banks’ recapitalisation plans, the non-performing loan market is forecast to witness increased activity. The country is expected to see the trade of its first major non performing loan package with Italy's lender Unicredit announcing earlier this week that it is within days of closing a sale of its debt collector unit, UCCMB, alongside a €3.5 bn portfolio of secured and unsecured loans to US private equity group Fortress.

DEBT SPECIALISTS
Other debt specialists are also making their moves. In November, Iberian debt servicer Finsolutia said it was joining forces with Credito Fondiario to launch a platform focused on the management of Italian distressed credit facilities and real estate assets held by investors and financial institutions.

Credito Fondiario, which was recently sold by Morgan Stanley to investors Tages and Harvip, manages over €4 bn of non-performing assets in Italy.

In late 2014, asset manager Algebris Investments said it had raised €370 mln from institutional investors and family offices for a new fund focusing on Italian non-performing loans. The vehicle, known as Algebris NPL Fund I, targets non-perfoming and sub-perfoming loans as well as a portfolio of loans owned by the country's financial industry.

Algebris, which opened an office in Milan headed by Massimiliano Bertolino and Alberto Iori, said the main focus will be on loans backed by real estate assets, which currently represent around 40% of the total NPLs in the country, amounting to almost €170 bn.

Also in October, international property services group REAG announced the launch of a new debt advisory services department in Italy with plans to expand the business to other European markets in the future. The company, which is part of the Milwaukee-based American Appraisal group, hired Unicredit Credit Management Immobiliare’s former managing director Diego Bortot to lead the new business unit, based in Milan.