Bahrain's GFH acquires $100m property portfolio in US

Deal pushes value of its investments in the US and UK real estate sector to more than $1bn

Bahrain-listed GFH FInancial Group on Wednesday reported a drop in its  full year net profit. Shutterstock

GFH Financial Group, an investment bank based in Bahrain, acquired a portfolio of office buildings for $100 million (Dh367m) in the US, pushing the value of its investments in the US and the UK real estate sector to more than $1 billion.

The acquisition was made through the group’s subsidiary, GFH Capital, in partnership with Global Mutual, a real estate investment management company with more than £1.5bn (Dh6.84bn) of assets under management, GFH said in a statement on Tuesday. GFH, along with its investors, controls about 95 per cent of the portfolio with the remaining held by Global Mutual, it added.

The acquired portfolio consists of five income yielding buildings, located in Research Triangle Park in North Carolina. Arcadia Management Group, an affiliate of Global Mutual, will manage the properties on behalf of the investors, it added.

The portfolio is well positioned to deliver cash flows driven by a “solid roster of several credit rated tenants”, said Hisham Alrayes, chief executive of GFH Financial Group.

This continued ability to identify asset in fast-growing markets with tenants in recession-resistant industries will allow us to deliver value to our investors,” he said.

The latest venture into the US increases the company's footprint in the technology offices segment of the real estate market and also expands the firm’s partnership with international asset managers, Mr Alrayes noted.

The Manama-headquartered group in May reported a 41.4 per cent slide in its first-quarter net profit as income from its commercial banking arm fell. The profit attributable to the company’s shareholders at the end of March declined to $21.36m. The group’s consolidated net profit for the reporting period also slipped to $20.7m, a 43.9 per cent fall from a year earlier.