Swicorp, a leading asset management, private equity and investment banking firm with a specific regional focus on the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, has joined hands with Saudi-based urban development company Retal to raise funds for its real estate development fund, Ewan Al Qayrawan.

The duo has successfully netted SR112 million ($30 million) in equity, and arranged a SR132-million ($35 million) loan facility from a local bank for Ewan Al Qayrawan Real Estate Development Fund.

A subsidiary of the Al Fozan Group, Retal will develop and sell 164 villas in the Saudi city of Dammam.

The fund was established by Swicorp in partnership with Retal Urban Development Company, a key urban development company in Saudi Arabia, for delivering comfort, luxury and affordability to a wide and growing market.

Founded in 1987 by current chairman Kamel Lazaar, and licensed by the Capital Market Authority of Saudi Arabia and the Dubai Financial Services Authority, Swicorp has grown today to be one of the region’s premier financial services providers.

It has an extensive track record over more than 25 years of pioneering mergers and acquisitions, advisory and real estate transactions across the Mena region for regional and international clients.

On the closing of subscriptions, Kais Mbarek, the head of asset management, said: "Swicorp is honoured to take the role of fund manager for Ewan Al Qayrawan and to contribute to the development of the real estate sector in the Eastern region."

"We are confident that with our experience and expertise in asset management and real estate financing, we will be able to generate attractive returns for fund investors in partnership with Retal Urban Development Company and hope that this fund will be the start of a long-term mutually beneficial relationship between the two parties," noted Mbarek.

Ewan Al Qayrawan Fund is another important addition to the range of products and funds that Swicorp carefully selects to satisfy the varied demands of its clients and investors, he added.

Under the structured plan, the fund will return the money to investors by the end of 2016 and start of 2017.

Mbarek said Ewan Al Qayrawan represented an important milestone for its asset management activity. "It is the second in a series of real estate funds which we will be launching in the coming months," he noted.

"At Swicorp, we are keen to bring together first class developers and attractive locations and projects, in order to structure and launch attractive and high-performing real estate development funds," he added.-TradeArabia News Service