MBI International to invest EUR 1bn in two French towers

MBI International & Partners, the global group that combines the companies owned by self-made Arab entrepreneur Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber, said it will invest up to EUR 1bn in the development of two 164-metre-high towers in Levallois-Perret, a business district near La Defense on the outskirts of Paris. In a statement, the company said that Bin Issa Al Jaber signed an agreement this week with Levallois-Perret's mayor Patrick Balkany for the development of Les Tours de Levallois.

'This project is one of the most important investments for the next 10 years in the Parisian inner-city suburbs', MBI said in a statement. It is located on the banks of the Seine river and will comprise around 85,000 m² of office space across 38 floors; a 400-room luxury hotel with 35 000 m² owned and managed by JJW Hotels, a restaurant, spa area and six-storey parking garage accommodating over 1,400 cars. The total net area of the project is 125 000 m².

Bin Issa Al Jaber, the founder, chairman and CEO of MBI International & Partners, said: 'MBI is focusing its expansion at the luxury end of the real estate business. This investment comes to crown 20 years of business presence in France. It will not be the last as we will continue to expand in the business and hospitality sectors of this country.'

MBI International selected leading architects Pierre Epstein and Sylvain Glairman to design the project, that has already achieved planning permission and should be delivered by end 2012. The towers will be of High Environmental Quality (HEQ), MBI pointed out, including features such as low energy consumption, limited waste and efficient maintenance. It added that it would lean on its traditional financial partners such as BNP Paribas, JP Morgan, Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank and Standard Bank to finance the project.