PineBridge Investments Middle East BSC (c) (PBME), a global multi-asset class investment manager, with regional headquarters in Bahrain covering the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, has completed the first close of the PineBridge GCC Real Estate Fund I LP, raising over $140 million. The target for the final close is $200 million.
The Shariah-compliant fund will invest in income-producing real estate assets in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The fund offers investors the opportunity to invest in existing properties with established rental revenue and a focus on logistics and warehousing, social infrastructure (health care and education) and community retail.
Talal Al-Zain, CEO, PineBridge Investments Middle East, said: “There are a wide number of opportunities to invest in specialist real estate assets that generate stable returns and unlock capital for business owners in the GCC. The target sectors — logistics, social infrastructure and community retail — are important contributors to the economic growth and development of the region, as well as for job creation.
“Combining global expertise with extensive experience in investing in the Middle East, PineBridge is well-placed to source robust investment opportunities tailored to suit sophisticated investors. We have an experienced regional real estate investment team with a proven transactional track record, and a sound understanding of assets with strong long-term potential.”
Due to the growth in demand for social infrastructure and warehousing facilities, certain real estate investments in the region continue to offer investors appealing returns.
The fund will utilize these trends by investing in fully-developed income-generating properties with solid long-term leases and quality tenants.
The Kingdom allocated $56 billion to education and training in the 2014 budget and $28.8 billion for health care and social affairs.
Saudi Arabia’s K-12 student population is expected to increase from 4.9 million to 5.6 million by 2020. This indicates that private education operators will depart from the traditional owner-occupier model and will move toward partnering with real estate investors.
Saudi Arabia, which comprises over two-thirds of the GCC's population, is the region’s largest spender on health care and has a genuine need for the development of specialist real estate assets such as polyclinics, imaging and diagnostics laboratories, and physiotherapy centers. These factors and trends present an attractive opportunity for real estate investors to partner with healthcare providers.
A UAE-based school campus operated by GEMS Education Ltd., acquired by PineBridge Investments Middle East late last year in a sale-and-leaseback transaction, is the seed asset for the fund.
GCC real estate fund raises over $140 million
