Saudi Arabia’s NCB Capital has mandated Fidelity International to invest in core European real estate.
Fidelity said it had partnered with the Saudi Arabian investment bank and asset manager to launch a $300m (€281.4m) bespoke real estate mandate.
The vehicle has $150m of equity, which can be leveraged to invest up to $300m.
The pan-European mandate will target core and core-plus assets in Germany, France, Benelux and the UK, Fidelity said.
Appetite from the Middle East for the UK and core euro-zone area was an ongoing trend, Fidelity said, with monies from this region constituting a major source of capital. An average €5.1bn was invested between 2014 and 2016, according to data provided to Fidelity by Real Capital Analytics.
Adrian Benedict, investment director of 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.”
Fidelity said investments will range from $20m to $60m in size for the Shariah-compliant mandate, focusing on the office, logistics and retail sectors.
Fidelity recently raised €111m for its core, euro-zone-focused real estate fund. The investment manager attracted capital from European institutional investors over a 12-week period. New investors from France, Germany, Ireland and Switzerland joined the Fidelity Eurozone Select Real Estate Fund.
