Al-Futtaim Capital has appointed the Dubai office of Volaw Trust & Corporate Services Limited as Administrator of the Al-Futtaim MENA Real Estate Development Fund and the related Al-Futtaim MENA Real Estate Shari'a Development Fund, which both closed recently having raised AED1.84bn (US$500M) between them.
Volaw is one of Jersey's leading providers of fiduciary services and last year expanded its offering by opening a new office in the Dubai International Financial Centre and by being licensed by the Dubai Financial Services Authority to provide both trustee and fund administration services, to further consolidate its already strong position in the Middle East.
The combined funds make up the largest investment vehicle of their kind in the region and will focus primarily on urban developments in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The Funds' investment strategy will focus on Al-Futtaim-led developments in key MENA cities such as Abu Dhabi, Doha, Casablanca and Cairo.
Omar Al-Futtaim, Chief Executive Officer of Al-Futtaim Group, said: 'We are very happy with this outcome. The fundraising exercise has been extremely successful and has exceeded our expectations. This is the first time that Islamic and conventional investors have jointly committed such significant amounts to develop mixed-use properties in the MENA region.'
The innovative structure of the Funds allows Shari'a investors to participate in attractive large scale mixed-use development opportunities in compliance with Shari'a law. Contractual arrangements that enable the implementation of best practice corporate governance will also ensure that no conflict of interest arises between Shari'a and conventional investors.
Trevor Norman, Director of Volaw's Middle East and Islamic Finance group commented 'Our appointment is a reflection of our expertise in administering both conventional and Shari'a compliant structures and we are delighted to be able to use our knowledge and experience in assisting the Al Futtaim Group with this exciting project'.
-Ends-
For further information please contact
Georgina Jeffries,
Head of Marketing
Email: gjeffries@Volaw.com
tel: 00441534 500441
© Press Release 2008
