AW Properties has marked its debut UK real estate deal with the acquisition of an office complex in South Wales from UAE-based Gulf Islamic Investments (GII).
GII said it has sold the fully-let 150,000sqft office complex in Celtic Springs Business Park in Newport to the Al Wazzan family’s real estate company for an undisclosed amount.
The asset comprises three office buildings let to a single tenant. It is the largest South Wales commercial property deal in the past 12 months.
Rawia Guedri, CFO of Al Wazzan Family Office, said: “We are delighted that our debut commercial property acquisition in the UK involves a well-located office with strong fundamentals and income growth opportunities.
“The opportunity satisfies our investment criteria, offering numerous benefits including a long-term secure lease with fixed rental uplifts to a large global blue-chip occupier who has already committed capital to refurbish and further upgrade the building.”
Investment firm Rasmala acquired Celtic Springs Business Park in 2015 with GII and other investors. The campus, including an additional plot of development land, was acquired for around £30m (€34m).
At the time, Rasmala said the properties were let to Airbus Defence and Space, a division of Airbus Group.
GII said the exit follows a successful re-gearing of the lease to a global aerospace corporation on a new 15-year term.
Mohammed Alhassan, co-founder and co-CEO of GII, said: “We are delighted to announce this exit, particularly after recent market uncertainty. We engaged GII’s best-in-class team to unlock value through a series of asset management initiatives, including financing and regearing.
“This demonstrates our ability to put our strategy into action. Managing and repositioning the asset successfully for long-term investors illustrates our capacity to create significant value and unlock our investments’ full potential.”
Alhassan said GII’s investor distributions now total almost $600m (€554m), with an exit pipeline of some $200m.
Pankaj Gupta, co-founder and co-CEO of GII, said: “GII’s in-depth analysis of each investment’s macro and micro market aspects allows us to unlock property potential that others might miss, ensuring top value for our clients and partners.”
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