Bahrain’s Investcorp buys garden apartments in $330m suburbs bet

The properties include more than 1,800 units across the suburbs of Atlanta, Baltimore and Jacksonville, Florida, and are focused on middle-income renters, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because the transactions were private.

“Amid increasing demand for US multifamily properties, we are actively seeking out opportunities that align with our strategic approach,” said Yusef Al Yusef, managing partner of Investcorp’s Private Wealth Platform. “We remain focused on delivering long-term value through the acquisition of highly-leased, cash flow generating assets underpinned by solid economic fundamentals.”

Yusef Al Yusef, managing partner of Investcorp’s Private Wealth Platform.

Since 1996, Investcorp has acquired more than 800 properties with a combined value of approximately $20 billion.

Investcorp, which oversees $33bn, narrowed its real estate strategy in 2014 to focus on multifamily and industrial properties. That shift has worked out well in a pandemic that has had a disproportionate impact on retail and lodging real estate.

While affluent exiles from New York and Silicon Valley have grabbed headlines in recent months, investors are focusing bets on demand in the Sunbelt from middle-class workers who can’t afford a down payment on a home.

Apartment owners had collected 88.6 percent of this month’s rent as of January 20, down 2.5 percentage points from the previous year, according to the National Multifamily Housing Council.

Suburban markets have fared better, pushing institutional capital to seek opportunities in single-family rentals and garden apartments.

Investcorp has been a seller as well as a buyer. In November, the firm announced it had sold eight apartment portfolios, spread across Arizona, California, Florida and New York, for more than $900m.