Demonstrating its commitment to offering stable and diversified investment options that leverage global opportunities and deliver favorable returns for its clients, Kuwait Financial Centre “Markaz” announces the sale of an industrial property in South Venlo, The Netherlands.
The International Real Estate department at Markaz successfully completed the development, leasing, and sale of the property spanning 21,500 square meters, delivering a double-digit return to the investors despite strong economic headwinds. Our success results from well-researched and meticulous selection of the market, product type, and partner, and the excellence in project execution and monitoring. The sale generated a Net IRR of 11.9% and a net ROI multiple of 1.35 times.
The project started in December 2020 and is strategically located in Venlo, The Netherlands, a key industrial hub in Europe bordering Germany with access to one of the largest metropolitan regions of the continent, North Rhine Westphalia. Markaz’s investment involved acquiring and developing a land parcel into a Class-A industrial facility.
Commenting on the exit announcement, Mr. Sami Shabshab, Managing Director, Mar-Gulf, the real estate arm of Markaz in the U.S., said: “This marks our 86th international real estate project worldwide; our focus remains on diversification as we seek new opportunities in the United States and Europe that align with our investment strategies. Our philosophy is and continues to be sector and strategy agnostic under which we identify and source opportunities depending on market trends and timing,”
Mr. Sadon Al-Sabt, Senior Vice President, International Real estate at Markaz, stated: “We take pride in Markaz’s second successful exit in 2023 despite the challenging economic circumstances globally, and our seventh exit in Europe over the past four years. The project underlines our commitment to seizing promising real estate opportunities. We aim to expand our investment portfolio by remaining selective in the real estate asset class and judiciously selecting project partners with an innate competitive edge.”
Over the past 18 months, Markaz has invested around USD 145 million across multiple sectors, such as multifamily, industrial, and senior housing, through equity and mezzanine debt. Most recently, during the first half of 2023, Markaz made its first investment development financing through mezzanine debt, partnering with a renowned international real estate developer.
Markaz's international real estate assets under management (AUM) amount to around USD 783.6 million as of the second quarter of 2023, of which 61% is invested in the US and 39% in Europe. Their performance has remained strong, particularly recently, with an impressive average return of 22.9% across 14 development projects since 2020.
While the department had initially focused on a ground-up development strategy, it has demonstrated considerable flexibility in responding to the varying market conditions, as evidenced by its recent launch of a mezzanine debt investment program across two projects since the start of 2023. Markaz’s continued success in real estate assets can be attributed to its keenness to collaborate and establish long-lasting relationships with experienced developers and capital partners with a deep understanding of the targeted market.
Markaz has been active in the US real estate market since 1977, with the launching of its first syndicated transaction. Since 1988, Markaz has been conducting real estate transactions in the U.S. through Mar-Gulf, the U.S. real estate arm of Markaz. Over the past thirty-five years, Markaz and Mar-Gulf owned and developed real estate properties in various segments (Industrial, Retail, Multifamily, and Office) across the U.S. with a total acquisition cost exceeding (USD 1.65) billion.
Markaz Exits South Venlo Industrial Property
12/09/2023