Arcapita, the Bahrain-based investment management firm, has sold real estate assets it jointly held with Saudi Arabia's Al Rajhi Capital for SR1.35 billion ($359.81 million), the two companies said in a joint statement on Monday.

The ARC Real Estate Fund, which had a lifespan of five years, acquired six assets in logistics, warehousing and retail in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, they said in the statement.

On the move, Gaurav Shah, CEO of Al Rajhi Capital, and Atif Abdulmalik, CEO of Arcapita, said: "We are pleased with the performance of ARC Real Estate Income Fund since our investment five years ago and believe it was the right time to exit the fund to deliver maximum profits for our investors."

"Throughout its term, the fund performed well, maintaining full occupancy on extended term leases to quality tenants across its portfolio of assets," they stated.

Both Shah and Abdulmalik pointed out that the ARC Real Estate Income Fund had proved to be an attractive and stable investment opportunity for its investors in an extended low interest rate environment, delivering an average annualized yield of 7.2 per cent, and distributing an annual yield in excess of nine per cent over the last two years.

According to them, the fund delivered approximately 18 per cent growth in net asset value during this term.

"The performance of the fund demonstrates the attractiveness of the Saudi and UAE markets for the logistics sector as well as the expertise of Al Rajhi Capital's and Arcapita’s fund managers in sourcing and acquiring investments for the fund," they added.
 
 The fund appointed an external consultant to advise on the sale in April. They did not say who they had sold the assets to.

Al Rajhi Capital is the investment banking arm of Saudi Arabian lender, Al Rajhi Bank.-Reuters and TradeArabia News Service