Land developer Dacland appoint new CEO

Former Metro Property Group chief financial officer Travis Deans has been appointed to the role of chief executive officer of land developer Dacland.

Deans joined Metro as one its first employees nearly seven years ago and assisted its expansion to over 150 employees and 63 projects in the portfolio.

He raised in excess of $1.3 billion in debt for Metro while establishing a corporate debt facility with Credit Suisse, to support the fast-growing developer’s needs.

He says he has the same aspirations for his new role as Dacland prepares to launch a new 60-hectare land parcel in Plumpton.

“My aim at Dacland is to build on the platform, corporatise and grow the business and capitalise on new opportunities for bank and equity partners,” Deans said.

“One of the biggest challenges I foresee across the industry in the next five years will be the debt market’s continued lack of availability.

“So in order to deliver innovative funding solutions, relationships will be key, along with the ability to explore non-traditional and alternative opportunities such as corporate facilities or stretched senior debt.”

Dacland’s managing director, John C Dwyer, said that Deans would be an important ingredient in the company’s expansion plans.

“Travis’ passion and approach to finance, along with his experience and motivation to grow a business, were some of the key skills we identified for the role,” he said.

“Dacland has enjoyed steady growth for the last 20 years to become one of the nation’s largest land developers by volume of sales.

“With a number of new projects poised to launch in the next 18 months and a steady foundation of processes and relationships already in place, we are now ready to embrace the next phase of the Dacland journey, with Travis leading that charge.”