Guidance in the News
11 March 2015 Guidance Investments finishes real estate fund targeting GCC investors
Jeddah, 29 October 2015, Saudi Gazette | Guidance Investments has announced the first closure of its Logistics Real Estate Investment Fund, South East Asia’s first Fund focused on the logistics and industrial sectors, at USD 100 million.
A leading Malaysian financial organization is the anchor investor of the landmark Fund. Other investors include pension funds, a supra-national institution, endowment funds and family offices from the GCC and the Middle East.
The first close puts the Fund in a strong position to hit its target of $400 million with a number of additional closings planned over the next 18 months. Guidance Investments, through Capital Guidance, has over 25 years of investment and fund management experience, across five real estate operating platforms with a total of $5 billion investments in 110 properties in North America, the Middle East, North Africa and Asia.
Dr. Hasnita Hashim, Chief Executive Officer of Guidance Investments, said: “We have a very clear strategy for our Fund with a focus on high-growth opportunities in the logistics and warehouse property sector in four countries, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia. We believe the Fund will capture strong capital and rental growth in a sector that is expected to mature substantially over the coming years.”
She added: “Backed by a dynamic team that has considerable real estate, fund management and deal sourcing experience in the logistics and Industrial sector, we are confident that the Fund will achieve substantial growth. Our Kuala Lumpur-based Real Estate division has built excellent relationships with stakeholders in both the real estae and investment communities across ASEAN and GCC markets, which provides our clients with high quality support based on international best practice and deep local knowledge.” The company has built specialty teams in real estate to capitalize on opportunites for institutional investor clients. Overall to date, Guidance has launched nine Shariah-compliant international investment funds in the fields of private equity, real estate, and fixed income, working independently and in partnership with leading internationa strategic partners. This latest closing creates a specific platform for leveraging the company’s deep logistics real estate experience specifically to the ASEAN markets.
Amer Hammour, Chairman of Capital Guidance Real Estate Business, said: “Our extensive experience, expertise and understanding of key market indicators guide our approach to real estate investments. Over the past two decades, we have successfully built our global real estate capabilities which today have seen our real estate business reach $5 billion in investmetns in Asia, Middle East and North America. We strongly believe the fund’s potential to deliver strong yields to investors while contributing to the growth in these markets.” – SG