Yousef Al Yousef, Head of Investcorp's Global Placement Group and a member of the board of directors of ICAP, said that the company's real estate portfolio in the United States is large and comprehensive, amounting to approximately $11 billion, distributed among industrial properties, warehouses, family housing complexes, and student housing. He emphasized that the company's recent divestment of some US properties is not related to the tariff crisis.
In an interview with Al Arabiya Business, Al Yousef added that the aforementioned exit aims to generate significant returns for the investor and capitalize on the sector's positive dynamics. He added that there is strong demand for rentals in the US, with a vacancy rate of no more than 5%. This is a key factor driving real estate investment in the US.
He continued: "Investcorp's investment strategy is based on a meticulous asset selection process, where we study approximately 1,000 investment opportunities annually, from which we select approximately 5%. This is in addition to active real estate management, which reduces expenses, increases rental value, and creates additional value for properties, which positively impacts the investor through returns."
He emphasized that the company's strategy targets returns of between 10% and 12% annually, noting that the company has accumulated extensive experience in this field spanning over 30 years, and that the company's value-creation model has proven its worth over various economic cycles.
Al-Yousef noted that the tariff decisions taken by US President Donald Trump could increase the attractiveness of industrial real estate, as they aim to increase local manufacturing volume. They will also increase construction costs and potentially lead to higher interest rates, all of which are attractive factors for the real estate sector.
Investcorp Capital previously announced the sale of its first domestic portfolio in the United States for $360 million. The company added that the portfolio is distributed across six investments in six states, and the sale achieved a return of approximately 40% over the initial purchase price of approximately $262 million less than four years ago.
The company explained that the portfolio was sold to benefit from industrial capital markets and the strong operational fundamentals of the real estate sector during its holding period.