London, U.K: Kuwait-based GSH (Global Securities House) and London-headquartered ABCIB Islamic Asset Management Limited (IAM) announced the successful sale of the assets of the jointly-sponsored Al Bait UK Real Estate Fund for £58.8 million.
The Al Bait Fund’s portfolio of properties comprised a balance of office, mixed use and industrial assets in diversified locations in UK. Acquired in 2003, the portfolio has been sold to the Pan-European Islamic Real Estate Fund. The early exit has generated profits significantly in excess of targeted returns. The Al Bait Fund’s (annual) internal rate of return on distribution is approximately 15%, equivalent to a gross return on invested equity of around 50%, beating original investment targets by a large margin.
Fahed Boodai, CEO of GSH stated, “We are thrilled by the results of the Al Bait UK Real Estate Fund which exceeds our expectations. This result reflects our objective of selecting exceptional investment opportunities for our clients. The results are due to the extensive due diligence we undertook as well as the hard work, expertise, and innovative thinking of the investment teams involved.”
Derek Weist, Acting CEO of IAM, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ABC International Bank plc commented: “The key to implementing successful strategies in real estate markets is timing. We believe that the time is now right for us to bring on added-value opportunities in other markets and sectors in which ABC is able to analyse and price risk.
“It has been a pleasure to work with the highly professional team at GSH,” he added, “and we are looking forward to building on this partnership with further international real estate offerings in the future.”
About the parties involved
GSH is an international real estate investment advisory firm based in Kuwait. It structures, manages, and monitors global real estate products on behalf of its investors. GSH has extensive experience in real estate investments in the US, UK, and France. GSH is a subsidiary of Securities House Kuwait, a publicly traded company in Kuwait.
ABCIB Islamic Asset Management Limited (IAM) is a wholly owned subsidiary of ABC International Bank plc, London and is staffed by employees dedicated solely to Islamic banking and finance. The primary responsibility of this team is the origination and management of transactions and assets which comply with Shariah and in this it works closely with ABC Islamic Bank, Bahrain.
ABCIB is a UK-registered company, authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority in London. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Arab Banking Corporation (ABC), a leading international Arab banking group headquartered in the Kingdom of Bahrain.