A Saudi Arabian investment company has bought a portfolio of four buildings in Manchester in a £39 million ($49.6 million) deal funded by Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank's UK arm.

Cedar Tree Investments, a company whose assets are managed by Jeddah-based AIMS Investments, has bought three buildings in Manchester city centre and one in the Rusholme district close to the city's main university campuses.

The buildings - Basil House (105-107 Portland St), Salisbury House (123 Princess St), 51 King St and 341 Great Western Street (Rusholme) - were sold by Beech Holdings, which is a Manchester-based developer run by Stephen Beech that specialises in renovating older buildings.

In total, the four buildings acquired have 163 freehold rental properties. These are mainly apartments, but Basil House also has a ground floor retail unit, and 51 King St has a 3,300 sq ft retail unit spanning three levels.

In a statement posted on Beech Holdings' website, Abdulaziz Albassam, CEO of AIMS Investments, described the acquisition as "an important step towards realising the investment strategy for Cedar Tree Investments in the UK".

"We remain committed to establishing a sizeable portfolio in the UK over the coming 2-3 years,” he added.

Paul Maisfield, head of real estate at ADIB UK, said: “We continue to see strong demand from Middle Eastern investors for the yield offered by UK real estate."

Property consultancy firm Knight Frank advised on the sale.

(Writing by Michael Fahy; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(michael.fahy@refinitiv.com)

© ZAWYA 2019