Investcorp set to invest $1bn in GCC real estate over next five years

This follows Investcorp’s first real estate acquisition in Saudi Arabia. The investment is a new, state-of-the-art, 215,000 square feet temperature-controlled warehouse located in Dammam.

Investcorp, a Bahrain-based asset manager which counts Mubadala Investment Company as its biggest shareholder, on Tuesday announced that it is planning to invest up to $1 billion in the real estate market in the GCC over the next five years.

This follows Investcorp’s first real estate acquisition in Saudi Arabia. The investment is a new, state-of-the-art, 215,000 square feet temperature-controlled warehouse located in Dammam.This is the first $100 million-worth of real estate investments the firm is currently assessing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The Dammam warehouse is fully leased to Racking Systems Logistics Services Company, a third-party logistics company which serves the Saudi market in the temperature-controllaed warehousing and distribution segment.

The investment in the Dammam warehouse – which can store up to 32,000 pallets of goods – will bring the value of Investcorp’s global warehousing logistics investments to over $4 billion, representing approximately 42 million square feet of industrial space.

Hazem Ben-Gacem, co-chief executive officer of Investcorp, said Investcorp is a natural partner in this growth journey, and this acquisition leverages our global experience investing in the logistics sector – particularly in the US, Europe and India.

"This is the first in a series of investments we are planning to make in the near future – to invest $1 billion over the next five years,” he said.

Babak Sultani, head of GCC Real Estate at Investcorp, said: “Our first acquisition of a warehouse facility in the GCC expands on our recent activity in the region where we see long-term growth dynamics, particularly in the Saudi Arabian market. We have ambitious plans across diversified real estate sectors that support healthcare, education, entertainment, consumer goods, tech-enabled services, manufacturing, transport and logistics, and industrial services.”

— muzaffarrizvi@khaleejtimes.com