Bahrain-based alternative investment fund Investcorp said its US-based real estate arm has acquired a diverse portfolio of real estate properties in the Boston and Denver metropolitan areas, for $250 million.

A global provider and manager of alternative investment products, Investcorp said the investments include 20 buildings and 1.8 million sq ft of office, industrial, flex and laboratory space, thus highlighting the company’s strategy to invest in strong, cash-flowing properties throughout key US markets.

The investments benefit from a continually improving employment environment.

According to Investcorp, the purchases of the five investments were well below replacement costs and have an average occupancy rate of 94 per cent.

They were acquired with different local partners who have established track records in their respective sectors and markets, it stated.  

On the acquisition, Mohammed Al Shroogi, the co-chief executive of Investcorp, said: "Boston and Denver are highly desirable markets whose strong economies make them appealing locations for investments. The acquisition of these properties is in line with our strategy of acquiring well-occupied cash flowing properties in metropolitan areas with strong growth fundamentals."

Boston is the 10th largest metropolitan area in the US with an unemployment rate of 3.5 per cent, well below the national rate of 5 per cent. Boston Metro Industrial, a 900,000-sq-ft four building industrial portfolio, is 95 per cent occupied.

The industrial market in Boston has been fueled by robust demand for real estate due to growth in the e-commerce field.

The second Boston acquisition, Blackstone Science Square, is a 99 per cent leased 76,038-sq-ft office/lab property in Cambridge, Massachusetts, leased primarily to tenants in the life-sciences industry.

Located between Harvard and MIT, Cambridge is home to over 300 life science and technology companies, representing the largest concentration of life science firms in the US.  

Denver, the 21st largest metropolitan area in the US, is consistently ranked as one of the fastest growing cities in the country with the population expected to increase to over 3.5 million residents by 2020.

"These investments have long weighted average lease terms, and we believe there is upside potential through our plan to implement property upgrades and accretive leasing," stated Al Shroogi.

Fahad Murad, the managing director at Investcorp in Bahrain, said: "With a strong base of tenants and supportive local market dynamics, these properties are great additions to our US Real Estate portfolio. It has been a very busy year for Investcorp on the Real Estate front and we expect to continue to invest in US real estate."

Investcorp, he stated, has acquired several office properties in the Denver area, including Centerpoint I & II, a 370,000 sq ft office complex in Denver’s Midtown submarket.

The firm has also acquired Arapahoe Business Park and 345 Inverness, a portfolio of 10 office/flex properties comprised of 485,000 square feet and located in Centennial and Englewood.-TradeArabia News Service