19th Apr 2007 09:48
European Islamic Investment BankPLC19 April 2007 19 April 2007 European Islamic Investment Bank plc ("EIIB") The EIIB Pan-European Islamic Real Estate Fund acquires Stg58.8 million UK portfolio European Islamic Investment Bank plc ("EIIB"), announces that The EIIBPan-European Islamic Real Estate Fund (the Fund), has today agreed theacquisition of a Stg58.8 million portfolio of five UK commercial properties (the"Portfolio"). The Fund is a Cayman Islands incorporated company established by EIIB that willissue shares to investors. The acquisition has been completed by the Fundpurchasing The House Limited, a Cayman Islands incorporated special purposecompany, that owns the Portfolio. The deal comes as the Fund begins a capitalraising process which aims to attract between Euro200 million and Euro500million of investor funds. The Portfolio has been held for the past three years in a Sharia'a compliantfund, co-sponsored by ABC International Bank plc (a subsidiary of Arab BankingCorporation) and Global Securities House WLL. The Portfolio consists of fouroffices and one distribution unit located in Newcastle, Hammersmith,Gloucestershire, Surrey and Nottingham. The Portfolio will account for the Fund's allocation to the UK property market,amounting to c.20%-25% of the Fund. The rest of the Fund will be invested incontinental Europe, with a particular focus on Central and Eastern Europe realestate. The Stg58.8 million acquisition cost was paid in cash using c.Stg18 millionsharia'a compliant bridge financing provided to the Fund by EIIB. SocieteGenerale provided sharia'a compliant financing for the balance of theacquisition cost. - end - Further information: EIIB plcJeremy Beswick, Head of Asset Management Tel: 020 7847 9970 Fishburn HedgesMark Tierney / Michelle James Tel: 020 7839 4321 Notes to editors: About the Fund: • The Fund is structured as a tax-efficient Sharia'a compliant fund which will directly purchase commercial real estate assets in the office, retail and industrial sectors in and around major cities in the UK and Western, Central and Eastern Europe. • The Fund has appointed Knight Frank Investment Management as the Real Estate Fund Adviser who will source real estate deals and actively manage the properties thereafter. • The Fund takes the form of a closed-end fund with a fixed term of five years plus up to two years wind-down. With a target size of between Euro200 million to Euro500 million at launch, (the Fund may consider a listing on a Stock Exchange after the initial capital is deployed. • The Fund's Investment Adviser will be advised by EIIB's existing Sharia'a Supervisory Board, an independent body of recognised specialised scholars in Islamic commercial jurisprudence. • The Fund's target return is over 11% Internal Rate of Return (IRR) per annum net of fees and expenses, and will be targeting income of over 7% per annum net of fees and expenses over the life of the Fund. The Fund plans to invest up to 25% in the UK, representing high quality "core" properties yielding 5-8% IRR per annum, with the balance invested in Continental European "value-added" properties yielding 12-15% IRR per annum. • The Fund takes the form of a Cayman Islands fund company, which will own 100% of a Luxembourg-domiciled holding company, and have subsidiary Single Purpose Vehicles holding the real estate assets in each target country. • Sharia'a compliant funding will be deployed at appropriate levels throughout the life of the Fund, with a potential maximum leverage of 75% anticipated at the Fund's launch. • The minimum investment is Euro250,000. The Fund will be valued and priced in euros. • The Fund intends to pay all net income received to shareholders each quarter. About EIIB: EIIB was incorporated in January 2005 and received its authorisation by the FSAon 8 March 2006. On 3 April, it opened for business, and on 17 May completed itsIPO and was admitted to London's AIM market. Headquartered in London, EIIB's range of products and services include thefollowing Sharia'a compliant investment banking activities: - Islamic Treasury and Capital Markets - Asset Management, including Private Banking - Structured Trade Finance - Corporate Finance and Advisory - Sharia'a Advisory. EIIB aims to deliver a full choice of alternative investment opportunities,enabling Islamic investors to construct balanced and sophisticated portfolioswhich can access a full range of asset classes internationally. EIIB will seek to service a market for Sharia'a compliant investment bankingservices in Europe, the Middle East and Asia that it believes has beenunder-exploited by conventional and Islamic banks, and by non-bankinginstitutions. EIIB intends to become a major participant in the market forIslamic securities, treasury and investment products, which is currentlyexperiencing rapid growth. The founding shareholders of EIIB include Gulf based individuals andinstitutions, including a number of Islamic banks, as well as individuals andcompanies based in Europe. This News Release is not an offer of units in the Fund nor is it to beinterpreted as being such an offer. Units in the Fund will be offered only onthe terms and conditions set out in the offering memorandum for the Fund. Theoffering memorandum will be released on a private basis to selected partiesonly. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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