Saudi Arabia's NCB Capital has awarded a $300 mln (€281 mln) pan-European real estate investment mandate to Bermuda-headquartered investment manager Fidelity International.
NCB Capital is an investment bank and the largest asset manager in Saudi Arabia, with over SAR75 bn (€18 bn) of assets under management.
The mandate will target core/core plus assets across Germany, France, the Benelux and the UK. The vehicle provides $150 mln of equity which can be leveraged to invest up to $300 mln in total.
The bespoke offering is focused on lot sizes of between $20-$60 mln in the office, logistics and retail sectors and is Shariah compliant.
Appetite from the Middle East for the UK and core Eurozone is an ongoing trend with monies from this region constituting a major source of capital, with an annual average of €5.1 bn invested 2014-2016.
Adrian Benedict, investment director real estate at Fidelity International, said: 'In the current climate, real estate has come into its own as institutions look for income and, in recent years, appetite from Middle Eastern investors has begun to increase.
'Developing a strategy and flexible structure to meet the needs of NCB Capital’s client base has been at the heart of this project. With strong competition for core, yielding assets, our intention is to focus on opportunities with active income management potential across the key economic regions of Europe.'
