Investcorp Plans 5-Year, $1B Investment in GCC Real Estate

Investcorp, a global alternative asset manager with $42.7bn in assets, plans to invest up to $1bn in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) real estate market during the next five years as it continues to expand its global properties and warehousing portfolio.

The company has already made its first Gulf real estate investment by acquiring a 215,000 square feet temperature-controlled warehouse in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, the first of the $100mn of real estate investments Investcorp is currently assessing in the country.

The Dammam warehouse, which can store up to 32,000 pallets of goods, is fully leased to Racking Systems Logistics Services Company, a third-party Saudi logistics company.

The latest investment brings the value of Investcorp’s global warehousing logistics investments to more than $4bn.

“The logistics and industrial sectors have enormous potential as key pillars of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 agenda to transform the kingdom into a leading industrial powerhouse and a global logistics hub,” said Investcorp co-chief executive Hazem Ben-Gacem.

“We see long-term growth dynamics, particularly in the Saudi Arabian market,” added Babak Sultani, head of GCC real estate at Investcorp.

The latest acquisition follows its recent investment in the GCC logistics sector. Last September, Investcorp’s Gulf Pre-IPO Growth Fund led a $100 million financing round in TruKKer Holding, one of the largest digital freight networks in the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region.