The Saudi prince co-owner of Sheffield United Football Club is planning a multi-million-pound investment push into UK commercial property through a London-based real estate firm,
Property Week can reveal.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Prince Abdullah will provide a “substantial” investment in Darin ahead of a £200m spending spree
Prince Abdullah Bin Mosaad Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, the grandson of the founder of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the nephew of the former king, has joined Darin Partners as a shareholder and board member.
Following the move, Darin Partners is expected to invest around £200m in the UK in the next 12 months, more than doubling the size of the firm’s portfolio.
Although a figure for Prince Abdullah’s personal investment has not been revealed, it has been described as “substantial”.
The firm is now hunting for investment opportunities in London and is also considering investing in the regions, particularly the South East and major regional cities.
David Bell, chief executive and founder of Darin Partners, said the company was targeting properties “let to strong, stable tenants with inflation or fixed-rental uplifts” and that it was interested in investing in the UK’s burgeoning logistics sector.
“All of the team and shareholders at Darin Partners are very excited and honoured that Prince Abdullah has decided to join our shareholding board,” he said.
“We remain fully committed to providing our investors with a full-service real estate platform to source, execute and manage assets on their behalf. We believe Darin Partners’ local presence eliminates the disadvantage that our overseas shareholders and investors face when investing in the UK market.
“Our focus continues to be on buying long-dated income and building up the capital that’s paid up from the dividend.”
Accelerate acquisitions programme
Prince Abdullah’s investment in Darin Partners will allow it to accelerate its acquisition programme. Since its creation in 2015, it has acquired more than £175m of assets in the UK.
Bell added that Darin Partners, which manages UK real estate investments for family offices, funds, financial institutions and other investors from the Arab states of the Gulf, was also looking for investment opportunities in mainland Europe.
Darin Partners’ most recent deal was the acquisition of Renault Nissan’s UK HQ
Source: renault_google maps
Darin Partners’ most recent deal, as revealed by
Property Week,
was the acquisition of Renault Nissan’s headquarters in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, for £35m on behalf of a private investor in May 2017.
Prince Abdullah, who bought 50% of Sheffield United Football Club in 2013, is also the former president of the Saudi general sport authority and the founder of the Saudi Paper Manufacturing Group, the largest paper manufacturer in the Middle East.
Last month, the prince was reported to be in talks to take full control of the Championship club from co-owner and co-chairman Kevin McCabe.
