Bahrain’s Arcapita buys part of Abu Dhabi property project for $200m

Arcapita, the Bahrain-based investment management firm, has acquired part of Saadiyat Beach Residences, a residential real estate complex in Abu Dhabi, the company said on Tuesday.

The size of the purchase was not disclosed in the statement but a source close to the deal said it was around $200m.

Arcapita bought the asset from Mubadala Development, an Abu Dhabi state-owned fund with a mandate to develop the emirate’s economy, Arcapita said in a statement.

The asset includes three low-rise buildings in a gated community and is under a three-year master lease to Tourism Development & Investment Co, an Abu Dhabi state-owned investment fund. It features 285 one- to three-bedroom apartments.

Arcapita is an active player in global property markets. Last month it said it had sold its real estate portfolio of retirement communities across the United States to NorthStar Healthcare Income Trust for $640m.

The firm expects to complete additional investments during 2015, Atif Abdulmalik, Arcapita’s chief executive, said in Tuesday’s statement.

It is the company’s first investment in Abu Dhabi. Saadiyat is a 27 square kilometre mixed-use development in the emirate.

“Abu Dhabi provides real estate investors with exposure to the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) region, while offering steady and stable growth prospects,” said Martin Tan, Arcapita’s chief investment officer.

The company said last month it had given $3bn in exit proceeds to its investors in the last two years but did not give a breakdown of profits for its real estate portfolio exit. In November, Arcapita completed a $100m fundraising, a little over a year after emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy driven by debt repayment difficulties.