Knight Frank has made two key appointments to its Capital Markets business, strengthening the team nationally.
Rob Sewell has joined the firm in the role of Partner, National Head of Institutional Sales, leading Knight Frank’s national office team, while Michael Kwok has been promoted to Partner, National Head of Capital Markets. Both will be based in Knight Frank’s Sydney Angel Place office.
Rob has more than three decades of experience in commercial real estate with an impressive track record across Australia and New Zealand, with previous roles at McVay Real Estate, JLL and CBRE.
He has transacted more than $26 billion in property during his career, including $2.5 billion in office deals over the past four years.
Rob has completed 30 major deals over the past seven years across every state in Australia. This includes leading some of the country’s most significant transactions including the sale of:
- 80 Collins Street in Melbourne ($1.5 billion)
- A 50% stake in Grosvenor Place in Sydney ($953 million)
- A 33% stake in Quay Quarter Tower in Sydney ($912 million)
- A 50% stake in Sydney’s Brookfield Place in Sydney ($953 million)
- A 50% stake in Chevron HQ Perth ($440 million)
- Central Plaza Brisbane ($840 million)
- Waterfront Place Brisbane ($635 million)
Rob’s expertise spans capital partnering, mixed-use developments, forward funding, divestments, acquisitions, strategic advisory and property swaps.
He has represented a broad range of institutional and private clients, including Blackstone, Brookfield, Dexus, GIC, Mirvac, QIC, Stockland.
Michael, who joined Knight Frank earlier this year, as Head of Capital and Strategic Advisory in ANZ, has more than 25 years’ experience in real estate investment and asset management, previously holding senior roles at Archerfield Property Group, Dexus, Valad and Colonial First State GAM.
He has been involved in over $10 billion in capital transactions and developments and has played a pivotal role in establishing and managing more than $2.5 billion in wholesale investor property partnerships.
His expertise spans deal origination, due diligence, design and construction, leasing and asset management across commercial office, industrial and healthcare sectors. Michael’s ability to understand the needs of capital and match them with opportunities will be key to growing our Capital Markets offering nationally.
Knight Frank Chief Executive Officer James Patterson said he was excited to announce the key appointments to Knight Frank’s Capital Markets business, which would strengthen the team nationally.
“Both Rob and Michael are very experienced and skilled operators, as well as being highly regarded in the market,” he said.
“Rob’s deep market knowledge and strong client relationships will be instrumental in delivering exceptional outcomes for our clients. Rob will work closely with Justin Bond, who is a well-respected and long-term member of the capital markets team with an exceptional track record in national and cross border office transactions, in addition to his role as the Managing Director of the Queensland business.
“After joining us just a few months ago, Michael has already made a significant impact on our business, and he will now lead our teams around Australia, in all sectors, including office, retail, healthcare, alternatives and industrial and logistics, to success, as well as expanding our skillsets in capital advisory with his investment management expertise.
“We are looking forward to many years of growth ahead for our Capital Markets teams under the leadership of Michael and Rob.”
Mr Sewell said he was looking forward to joining Knight Frank in July, and had been drawn to the private firm’s strong global network.
“Knight Frank has an excellent reputation in the market and has great momentum, with the firm’s leadership and partnerships, including with McGrath and Bayleys, strengthening the brand in Australia,” he said.
“The ethos of Knight Frank also aligns with how I want to conduct business, and that is to be a trusted advisor to clients, and provide genuine care for both clients and staff.”
Mr Kwok said he was excited to lead Knight Frank’s Capital Markets teams around Australia, especially at a time when the market is firmly in recovery mode.
”I feel privileged to be given the opportunity to lead and foster collaboration across the broader capital markets teams, and to grow Knight Frank’s capital advisory offering to our clients across Australia and working closely with our APAC office in Singapore to leverage our relationships across the Asia Pacific region.”
The appointments to Knight Frank’s Capital Markets team in Australia follows the global appointment of Nick Braybrook as Knight Frank’s Head of Global Capital Markets.
Nick will be responsible for coordinating over 250 capital markets advisers around the world, providing clients with a collaborative global service, focused on a detailed understanding of the source, strategies and drivers of the most active global capital.
Whilst continuing to lead the London Capital Markets & Development team, Nick will collaborate with the Capital Market heads based in six regions around the world, as well as Knight Frank Capital Advisory.
He will also work closely with the Private Office – an international team delivering bespoke real estate services for global high-net-worth individuals – where the recent appointment of Sarah May-Brown as Head of Global Private Capital further strengthens the firm’s ability to align private capital with global real estate opportunities.
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