Omniyat Properties, the real estate development arm of UAE-based Omniyat Holdings, announced that it has formed a strategic partnership with Bahrain-based Investate which will see them branch out into hotel development.
Omniyat’s chief marketing officer Ehab Shouly revealed that the new venture would see Omniyat Properties acting as managing developer for all Investate projects.
“One of the first projects we’ll be doing will have a hotel in the development,” Shouly revealed. “Our developments are going to be Shariah-compliant so we have been looking into that, especially in Saudi Arabia.
“Our first project is a residential development, which we’ll be announcing the details of very soon. The hotel element will come a little bit later,” he explained.
Investate will be first company of its kind in the Middle East to focus on investing in the region’s booming real estate sector and beyond.
The agreement with Omniyat came within 24 hours of Investate’s launch in Bahrain, following the company’s first shareholders meeting.
Investate was launched with a paid-up capital of US $108 million and an authorised capital of US $500 million.
The company’s impressive list of shareholders includes: Omniyat Holdings (Dubai), Almasa Holdings (Dubai), Kuwait Investment Company (Kuwait), The First Investor (Qatar), Al Rashed Group (Saudi Arabia) and Al Hokair Group (Saudi Arabia).
Omniyat Holdings and Omniyat Properties’ president and chief executive officer Mehdi Amjad, also vice chairman of Investate, said that the shareholders meeting had approved the company’s plan to apply for a Central Bank of Bahrain Category 1 Investment Company License.
This will allow Inverstate to undertake a wide range of real estate banking activities, including project financing, direct investment, asset management and advisory services.
Amjad said: “We believe the time is ripe for a company such as Investate to enter the market. We have succeeded in creating a synergy second to none by integrating the industry’s leading experts into a well conceived and planned enterprise.”
Investate chief executive officer Salah Nooruddin added that Investate aimed to service its investors and shareholders by specifically focusing on innovative investment projects that would offer above average returns.
He explained that the company would initially invest in and develop property in the GCC and MENA region, later branching out into investment projects throughout Europe, Asia and the USA.
Nooruddin added: “We are very proud that Investate has realised an exceptional achievement by striking a partnership with a high-profile real estate developer like Omniyat Properties. I anticipate this reaping rich rewards for all our investors and ensuring optimum return on investment.”
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