Bank Muscat's Izdihar extends GCC footprint

Muscat: Izdihar Real Estate Fund managed by Bank Muscat, the flagship financial services provider in the Sultanate, signed its first purchase agreement with Dubai-based Binghatti Developers, one of the leading real estate development companies in the UAE.
The agreement marked the acquisition of Binghatti Vista and Binghatti Sapphires, two premium residential properties in Dubai Silicon Oasis.
The acquisition agreement was signed by Sulaiman Al Yahyai, Chairman of Izdihar’s Fund Management Board, and Muhammad BinGhatti, CEO & Head of Architecture at Binghatti Holding.
Located just off Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed road, Binghatti Vista is an iconic nine-storeyed building highlighting Binghatti Developers’ signature design. Completed last month, the building comprises 118 residential units, including 72 studios, 18 one-bedroom, and 27 two-bedroom apartments, in addition to one three-bedroom apartment. With 105,815 sq. ft of leasable area, the property offers many modern amenities, including a heat monitored swimming pool, health club, children’s play area, a multi-purpose hall, rooftop public area, three floors of covered parking and an owner’s office.
The second property acquired by Izdihar is Binghatti Sapphires, a 10-storeyed residential building, which includes 60 studios, 29 one-bedroom and 39 two-bedroom apartments in addition to one three-bedroom apartment. The building has a leasable area of 113,920 sq. ft and offers different contemporary lifestyle amenities such as a heat monitored swimming pool, health club, multipurpose hall, rooftop public area, covered parking, and a children’s play area.
Al Yahyai said: “Izdihar’s investments are backed by strong asset positions, long-term leases, sound property management and attractive locations. This transaction marks another successful close for the fund in a short timeline, and I compliment the private equity and asset management team at Bank Muscat for exceeding investor expectations."
"Among the various opportunities in Dubai, we liked Binghatti Developers’ architecture and market pulse. We are looking to close more transactions in the region within the next few months,” he added.
BinGhatti said: “We had a very good experience of working with Izdihar Real Estate Fund and we are looking forward to closing more deals with them in the future. We have witnessed a lot of interest in our buildings from institutional investors looking for sustainable and long-term rental returns, and today’s milestone is the best testament to that.”
Abdullah Al Hinai, General Manager - Wholesale Banking of Bank Muscat, said: “We would like to thank the investors for their continuous support and welcome Binghatti Holding as a partner. We commend the fund management team for closing this transaction.”
Izdihar is a leading real estate fund established in Oman, which offers attractive yields to investors. The fund has distributed an annualised dividend of more than 10 per cent since its inception in December 2015. The fund has invested some US$140million and it is targeting additional investments of some $250 million.