Gulf Islamic Investments (GII) obtained an office tower in Paris for $300 million, the firm’s biggest property transaction to date, as it seeks to expand its real estate investments over Europe.
The deal puts the USE-based financial services firm on track to grow total advantages under management to $3 billion by the end of 2021 from about $2bn recently, GII said.
“Altaïs Towers is an exciting marker in GII’s growth trajectory,” Mohammed Alhassan, founding partner and co-chief executive of GII, said. “This acquisition highlights our deep and diversified global experience as we expand into new geographies and execute transactions of this scale and complexity, especially amidst the challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic.”
GII positioned private capital over a range of sectors containing real estate private equity and venture capital. Its clients contain ultra-high-net-worth peoples, family offices, banks, institutions, and sovereign wealth funds in the Gulf and Asia.
Altaïs Towers, a wholly restructured commercial property, was sold by a consortium containing Arpent capital, Maple Knoll Capital and funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management.
The transaction marks GII’s first purchase in Paris and its biggest property purchase so far, bringing the cost of its total investments in Europe to nearly $800m.
The acquisition is “consistent with our long-term real estate investment strategy of acquiring high-quality assets in major cities,” Pankaj Gupta, founding partner and co-CEO of GII, said.
Situated in the eastern Parisian suburb of Montreuil, Altaïs Towers comprises two buildings, totaling 37,500 square meters in the lettable area. Altaïs Towers is recently 99 percent renting on an average rent term of 12 years. GII has appointed L’Etoile Properties as a local property manager.
GII said it is quickly diversifying over advantages classes and geographies. The firm is concluding its second India-focused investment portfolio, which will begin in the second quarter of 2021. The portfolio will contain investment opportunities over different sectors, with a projected cost of more than $50m.
GII also expects to result in real estate deals this year in the senior care segment in Germany, constructing inroads in the country’s increasing elderly care market estimated to be cost approximately $80bn by 2025, it said.