Our Investments

We invested in a portfolio of prime industrial real estate properties in the United States, referred to as US Industrial Real Estate Portfolio I (US RE I). Located in six states across the Midwestern U.S., the Portfolio consists of 15 properties positioned in densely populated areas.

With an average building size of 104,000 square feet and primarily consisting of infill, multitenant light industrial properties, the Portfolio offers its highly diversified tenant base enduring functionality and long-term leasing optionality.

We ventured into the fast-growing data center space with the acquisition of a portfolio exceeding US$100 million, based in Virginia, United States. The investment is undertaken in partnership with Corporate Office Properties Trust, a US$5 billion NYSE-listed REIT and one of the leading data center operators in the US.

The portfolio consists of two state-of-the-art, built-to-suit data center facilities located in high technology business parks in the US state of Virginia. Virginia is one of the nation’s top ranked data center markets due to key factors including the region’s dense fiber network, highly reliable and low cost infrastructure, low risk of natural disasters and targeted tax incentives for data centers. The investment provides our investors with exposure to the positive dynamics of the US real estate market and, in particular, increasing demand for data centers in the US-led by growth in cloud services and data storage needs with Virginia serving as top data center destination.

Key investment features include:

• Leased to a single tenant (rated A-, BBB+), triple net leased buildings, 100% occupied
• Partnership with a strong experienced Property Manager and Asset Manager
• Tier III data centers (Tier IV is the highest Tier in Data Centers) designed with critical IT load of 11.5 MW and 4.5 MW
• Remaining lease terms of 4.5 years with contracted annual rental escalators and renewal options
• Stable cash flow stream providing healthy cash distributions to Investors

We entered into a partnership with Exeter Property Group, a well-renowned real estate investment manager focused on industrial and office properties and portfolios across the United States of America and Europe, acquiring a portfolio that consists of four high-quality cash flowing suburban office assets located in Philadelphia and Chicago.

Key investment features include:

• Partnership with a strong experienced Asset & Property Manager co-investing in the Portfolio
• Selected institutionally maintained and repositioned assets
•  Long-term, diversified credit rated tenants
•  Strong cash flow stream providing healthy cash distribution to Investors

 

In December 2017, we acquired the Central Park of Lisle (CPOL) – a suburban trophy office asset in Chicago, United States – in partnership with Lincoln Property Company, a globally leading property developer and asset manager with US$ 30bn AUM.

The 693,546 sq. ft. trophy office asset trophy office complex is comprised of two striking ‘Class A’ mid-rise office buildings, two parking decks and adjacent surface lots concentrated at the center of an idyllic 25 acre land parcel fronting Interstate-88. With a five-story atrium lobby and rich marble, granite and mahogany finishes, it is a landmark among the western Chicago business community.

In addition to the two office buildings, the asset includes a land parcel of approximately 7.5 acres situated adjacent to Interstate-88 and the existing CPOL office development. The site’s highly desirable location offers prime visibility from Interstate-88 and is zoned for Office Research & Planned Unit Development. This land parcel allows for the ability to accommodate growing office tenant demand well into the future as well as near term single tenant build-to suit requirements.

Key investment features include:

•       Partnership with strong experienced Asset & Property Managers
•       The Asset is multi-tenanted; 88% occupied by a diversified, credit-rated tenant base
•       Weighted average unexpired lease terms of six years
•       Strong cash flow stream providing healthy cash distributions to Investors

The Entertainer is the leading mobile commerce destination for dining, travel, lifestyle and live entertainment experiences across 15 countries within the Middle East, Asia and Africa. With over 300,000 users, discounts are offered from over 12,000 merchants where subscribers benefit by generating average annual savings in excess of the price of the service while merchants benefit from increased foot traffic and improved customer insight through access to The Entertainer’s proprietary data analytics platform. The Entertainer offers destination-specific products as well as tailored B2B solutions.

Founded in 2001, The Entertainer began as a traditional print coupon service and in 2013, seeing the opportunities created by the global transition to smartphones, The Entertainer launched a multi-year initiative to fully transition its core products from print to mobile by investing heavily in the development of a best-in-class, technology platform. The Entertainer has expanded into several markets through its core offering.

In July 2018, along with strategic partners, GFH made its first technology investment with a $150 million deal to buy a controlling stake in the Entertainer.

We acquired a 70% stake in Marshal, a leading pan-MENA FinTech company that is the region’s largest and oldest enabler of payment technology. Serving 16 countries and boasting long-standing partnerships with blue-chip clients, Marshal boasts a dominant market positioning and a consistently positive financial performance.

The investment sees us tapping into the growing payments industry. According to Global Payments Report (November 2018), debit and credit cards accounted for 49% of POS payments globally in 2018, and cash payments are expected to decline from 31% in 2018 to 17% in 2022.

We invested indirectly in a portfolio of prime industrial real estate properties in the United States, referred to as US Industrial Real Estate Portfolio II (US RE II).

The Portfolio is comprised of 11 multi and single tenant properties encompassing 1.25 million square feet (“msf”). The buildings are located across three states in the US: Illinois, Wisconsin and Missouri.

The investment strategy is to maintain a high level of occupancy by proactively extending in-place tenant leases and aggressively leasing any remaining vacancies in order to maintain a consistent cash yield over the holding period. Furthermore, the venture plans to maintain a high standard in order to keep the current tenants satisfied with their facilities.

In 2018, we acquired Westside Office Business Park in Hemel Hempstead. Located just north of London and off the M25, the ring road around greater London, in a prime office market, the complex comprises four Class A office buildings with approximately 200,000 sq. ft. of contemporary office space set along the Grand Union Canal with an abundance of on-site parking and excellent connections to Central London via both rail and road. With Heathrow and Luton airports in easy reach, the location is also ideal for national and international businesses. Upon acquisition, the property was 96% occupied by a well-diversified, credit-rated tenant base ranging across various industries and long-term lease contracts achieving a WAULT of 9+ years.

Key investment features include:

• Diversified, credit-rated, tenant base from a range of different industries such as: Epson, HSBC, The Grass Roots Group and Harman
• A stabilized business park allowing for a strong cash flow stream and providing healthy cash distributions to our clients
• Major tenant companies have their headquarters located at the business park

We invested approximately US$250 million in the US hospitality sector with the acquisition of a Diversified US Hospitality Portfolio. The geographically-diversified portfolio is comprised of 12 premium branded select service hotels across three key submarkets in the US, with each property falling under either of the renowned Hilton and Marriott brands.

The acquisition was undertaken in a joint venture with Arbor Lodging Partners who co-invested c. 9% stake in the Portfolio and is a specialized US-based hospitality asset manager with a strong track record in investing and managing hospitality assets. Arbor Lodging Management, an affiliate of Arbor, will manage the Portfolio.

Key investment features include:

• Select service hotels are more defensive against economic downturn due to lower rental rates, lower fixed cost and less dependency on F&B
• The portfolio is diversified by geography, brands profile and target markets
• Through planned renovations and Capex spending improve market penetration and value of the hotels
• Formed in 2005, Arbor is a fast growing hospitality real estate player in the US market

We acquired a Diversified Senior Healthcare Portfolio in partnership with Madison Marquette consisting of six income yielding Senior Healthcare Properties located in the U.S. states of California, Washington and Michigan in a deal exceeding US$ 180 million in value.

The Portfolio at acquisition was 90% occupied, and comprises 509 units, of which 248 units cater to Independent Living, 153 units to Assisted Living, and 108 units to Memory Care. The units are operated by Senior Resource Group, JEA Senior Living and Independence Village, all best in class Senior Living operators. JEA and Senior Resource Group have also invested equity alongside GFH and Madison Marquette in their respective properties.