Gulf Finance House (GFH) has offloaded its income-producing fund Gulf Atlantic Real Estate (GARE-UK) to Deutsche Bank for 170 million (Dh623m), realising an average return to clients of 37 per cent over a holding period of just under 3.5 years, the firm announced yesterday.
"The profitable sale of this income-producing commercial property portfolio to Deutsche Bank is testimony to the skill and experience of our real estate investment team. The team has delivered market-leading returns for our clients from this particular type of real estate asset and investment opportunity," said GFH Chief Executive Officer Esam Janahi.
According to Peter Panayiotou, GFH head of investments: "The UK commercial real estate market has been very buoyant, and we took the decision to dispose the portfolio after a direct approach from Deutsche Bank. We believe generally that the UK real estate market still provides opportunities for long-term investors." GARE was established in late 2002 with the intention of offering GFH clients the opportunity to invest in a strategic mix of income-producing properties in the major central business districts across the United Kingdom.
It was closed to new investments after acquiring seven properties in some strategically located business parks in the south east and midlands areas of the country.
The portfolio comprises four prestigious headquarters office developments and three state-of-the art warehousing and distribution centres.
GFH has now completed four exits, generating good short to medium term returns for its clients, ranging from 20 to 155 per cent between one and four years.
These follow the completion of three exits in 2005, including listing Al-Khaleej Development Company (Tameer) on the Bahrain and Kuwait stock exchanges, which yielded a return of 170 per cent to clients holding the investment over 3.5 years.
© Emirates Today 2006
