David Di Pilla – From Banker to Billion-Dollar Deal Maker, Driving HMC Capital’s Goals

David Di Pilla has quietly become one of the most powerful financiers in Australia. He used to be a dealmaker in investment banking, but now he runs HMC Capital, a diversified alternative asset manager with big plans to grow to $50 billion AUM in five years. His journey from working in bank offices to managing data centres, renewable energy, and real estate shows both the promise and danger of high-stakes growth.

Banking Origins and Early Deals

Di Pilla got his start in investment banking. He worked for more than 20 years giving advice on mergers, acquisitions, and capital markets. During his time at UBS Australia from 2004 to 2015, he rose to the position of Managing Director and Senior Adviser. He also worked as a strategic adviser and director for Tenix Group subsidiaries from 2014 to 2016, which gave him experience in the defence and industrial sectors.

But in 2016, he went from being an adviser to being the principal when he led the group that bought Woolworths’ failed Masters Home Improvement property portfolio for $725 million. That deal started HomeCo, which turned those sites into shopping malls. It also set the stage for what would become HMC Capital, bringing along former coworkers and business partners.

Originally Published on Auburn Times

HMC Capital: From Real Estate to Platform

HMC started out as part of HomeCo, but now it works in a number of different asset classes, including real estate, private equity, private credit, digital infrastructure, and energy transition. Di Pilla has made it clear that he wants to grow each pillar to over $10 billion and reach $50 billion by 2027. He has about $12.7 billion in assets under management and $129 million in pre-tax operating income.

Five growth engines are the basis of his plan:

In 2024, HMC bought Payton Capital for $127.5 million and changed its name to HMC. The goal is to lend money for first mortgages on commercial real estate and set up a credit fund.

• Energy & Transition: A fund for renewable energy and decarbonisation was made possible by buying a majority stake in StorEnergy, which stores batteries.
• Digital Infrastructure: In 2024, HMC bought Global Switch Australia for $1.94 billion. DigiCo Infrastructure REIT, its listing arm, owns 13 data centres with a total capacity of hundreds of megawatts.
• Private Equity and Strategic Stakes: Investments include stakes in Baby Bunting, Ingenia Communities, Sigma Healthcare (the Chemist Warehouse deal), Lifestyle Communities, and more.
• Real Estate & Development: About 75% of AUM is still in property through REITs and funds, but Di Pilla is actively moving towards unlisted capital, such as greenfield developments, urban retail, and mixed-use projects.
• HMC has built a diverse investment platform from real estate to support that change. It hasn’t been easy, but it’s based on ambition.

Heights, Disputes, and Fee Disputes

HMC’s growth has paid off: AUM is up almost 30%, earnings are strong, and the company has a strong public story. But people are pushing back. DigiCo, which is a key part of the strategy, has never traded above its issue price and is down about 20% in 2025. At the same time, HMC’s own parent stock fell by more than 25% as investors lost interest.

Critics say that the company’s fees are too high because they are based on gross asset value (GAV) plus transaction fees. HMC also talks about “committed AUM,” which includes money that hasn’t been drawn yet. This helps them market themselves as being bigger. Some people compare it to older models at companies like Macquarie, where layering fees hurt many investors’ returns.

Di Pilla defends the model by saying that HMC puts its own money into it and owns the most shares in many vehicles. He says that comparisons to legacy groups are fair, and that early commitment to listed vehicles builds credibility and momentum.

Big Bets and Problems with Governance

Di Pilla wants to make big bids, like one for Healthscope, which runs Australia’s second-largest private hospital. But Healthscope already has a lot of debt, and HMC’s current property holdings, which include hospital landlords, make the situation even more complicated. Di Pilla says the company has official rules for dealing with these kinds of conflicts and refused to put in equity, which shows that they are holding back even though they want to.

He also bought about 1.3 million shares in mid-2025, a $5 million bet to boost investor confidence in the face of volatility.

Risks along the way to $50 billion

Di Pilla’s path has a lot of potential because it includes a variety of sectors, fits with big trends like digital infrastructure and the energy transition, and has a history of getting deals done. But the risks are real:

• Execution is hard in five different areas
• Unpredictability in the tech and renewable energy sectors
• Fee models are under pressure in markets that are already full.
• Problems with governance and conflict, especially in deals like Healthscope
• If returns are late, investors will have to wait.

But Di Pilla thinks that volatility creates chances. He sees disruption as a tool and HMC as a flexible company that can move money around between trends when traditional investors are unsure.

Legacy in Action

David Di Pilla is leaving behind a legacy of change and ambition as he goes from being a banking advisor to an architect of alternative assets. Will HMC reach $50 billion in five years? We will see. But as he does this, Di Pilla is already changing how big Australian capital is moved around, connecting real estate to technology, renewable energy, credit markets, and more.

His rise is part of a bigger story: in the changing asset management industry, the biggest advantage may not be size, but breadth, agility, and vision. Di Pilla doesn’t just want to manage assets; he wants to set up a new way for Australian capital to move.

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