After $4.3 billion in 2025 volume, the team discusses its 2026 outlook
By John B. Mugford
Newmark’s U.S Healthcare Capital Markets leadership team includes (from left to right): Vice Chairmen John Nero, Jay Miele and Ben Appel; Senior Managing Director Michael Greeley; and Vice Chairman Justin Shepherd. (Photo courtesy of Newmark)
It was only five years or so ago, in 2020, when the U.S. Healthcare Capital Markets team at New York-based Newmark Group Inc. (Nasdaq: NMRK) was built “from the ground up,” as one of the professionals on the team puts it.
Yet, for those in the healthcare real estate (HRE) and medical outpatient building (MOB) businesses, it sure seems like the Newmark team has been around much longer, as its name and impact on the sector, as well as its financial performance, would suggest that the team has been in place significantly longer than just five years.
Of course, while the Newmark team was created from scratch in the 2020-21 time frame, the professionals who comprise the group certainly had plenty of experience in the HRE-MOB sector before joining the firm.
That team now encompasses, in the leadership roles, Ben Appel, Jay Miele and Justin Shepherd as vice chairmen and co-heads, and John Nero as vice chairman and head of healthcare debt. In addition, Michael Greeley is a senior managing director and Ron Ott is an associate director with the team.
As for its performance over the years, according to Mr. Shepherd, “Since 2021, our team has completed roughly $40 billion of gross transaction volume. This encompasses equity sales, debt placements, recapitalizations, equity raises, platform transactions, development RFPs (requests for proposals), hospital monetizations and hybrid financings. We are extremely proud of what we have accomplished with the support of our most loyal clients. As a singular, holistic team, the synergies of our leadership have fostered collaboration, which ultimately drives the highest and best outcome for our clients.”
In reflecting on the team’s history, Mr. Appel reiterates that it was “built from the ground up, starting in 2020,” adding, “Every team member was hand-selected with intention for their immense and unique skill set.” As a result, he says, “We do not need to outsource client needs, (as) you know exactly who you’re hiring… In our practice, it doesn’t matter who you call, as it’s a true and equal partnership. Every client gets the full-team commitment on every assignment, no matter what.”
In looking back at when and how the team came together, Mr. Miele adds his perspective by saying that, prior to 2020, Newmark did not have what could be considered a “dedicated” healthcare capital markets practice.
“But, the firm had a strong brand and was making meaningful investments in its alternatives capital markets platform,” he notes. “Building a national healthcare practice at Newmark felt like a natural and compelling opportunity. The firm has fully supported our vision and growth, and we have never looked back or regretted that decision a day since.”
Mr. Miele adds that the professionals on the team “first crossed paths” when Mr. Appel was a managing director at HFF Inc., which was acquired by Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. (NYSE: JLL) in 2019, and while Messrs. Miele and Nero were with New York-based H2C (Hammond Hanlon Camp), an investment banking firm with an HRE practice.
Messrs. Miele and Nero say they considered themselves “friendly competitors” with Mr. Appel while he was at HFF, and then JLL, with Mr. Meile recalling that “we often found ourselves working on different capital elements of the same transactions, raising equity, placing debt, selling assets and more. It quickly became clear that our skill sets were highly complementary, and just as importantly, we genuinely enjoyed working together.”
As for the Newmark team’s performance last year, Mr. Nero tells HREI that “2025 was a very active year. We are proud to have surpassed $4.3 billion in transaction volume for the year, for which we are extremely appreciative to our clients that made this milestone possible.
“The transaction activity broke up pretty evenly between debt and sales, which reflects a major uptick in financing activity year over year. In 2025, we did over $2.1 billion in healthcare financings across single assets and portfolios. The increase in debt placements is certainly a testament to our great team, but also reflective of the market, which has improved materially for borrowers over the past year and created a wave of opportunity that we expect to continue next year.”
HREI caught up with the leaders of Newmark’s U.S. Healthcare Capital Markets team to discuss the group’s history, how it operates, its performance and the overall HRE market.
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