Qatar fund shops for European properties

Qatar National Bank has launched a $400 mln (€317 mln) global fund to buy property in Europe, the UK and US.

The bank launched the fund through Ansbacher, its wholly-owned London-based wealth management group. The first $ 200 mln was raised from investors in Qatar and elsewhere in the Middle East.

Ansbacher CEO Hugh Titcomb said the Prime 1 Fund was launched in response to growing demand from investors in the Gulf region for access to the international property sector. The fund is being advised by London-based Strategic Real Estate Advisors (StratReal).

Spurred by record oil revenues, investors in the Middle East are increasingly putting their money in property outside the region.

Jones Lang LaSalle noted in its Global Capital Report that Middle Eastern spending on global real estate would surge 50% to $15 bn, making the region the third-largest foreign property investor after the US and Germany.

The property advisor said Middle Eastern investors had spent nearly $6 bn since the start of 2006 on foreign commercial real estate. Two thirds went to the US and the remaining $2 bn to Europe, mainly the UK.

‘After years of absence, Middle Eastern funds are again investing heavily in the US, followed by Europe,’ Tony M Horrell, international director for Jones Lang LaSalle, told Gulf News. He estimated that the total spending on property by Middle East investors would reach $15 bn by the end of 2006.

Jones Lang LaSalle recently increased its ‘footprint’ in the region with the acquisition of RSP Group, a Dubai-based real estate investment and advisory firm.