Investcorp's real estate deal volume in US hit $4bn in 2021

Investcorp, the alternative asset manager that counts Mubadala Investment Company as its biggest shareholder, conducted real estate deals worth $4 billion in the US in 2021, tapping into demand for residential and industrial properties.

The company bought 200 properties valued at $2.5bn and sold properties worth $1.5bn in the world's largest economy, it said on Monday. “The record level of activity within our North American real estate business in 2021 has created many opportunities to help drive Investcorp’s growth and retain its position as a top cross-border real estate buyer and seller in the US,” said ‏‏‏‏executive chairman Mohammed Alardhi.

“Long before the pandemic, we perceived residential and industrial real estate investments to be one of the most recession-proof sectors, and this strategy has proven to be attractive given business and lifestyle changes, many of which were accelerated because of Covid-19.”

The Bahrain-based company invested $1bn of clients’ capital in US property last year and expanded its industrial holdings in the country to $3.5bn, comprising more than 425 buildings. It also grew the value of its US residential assets to about $4.1bn across 18,000 multifamily units and 2,700 student housing beds.

“While we entered 2021 acutely aware of the short- and long-term changes Covid-19 could have on the real estate market, we have seen strong macroeconomic tailwinds inspiring continued optimism in these sectors,” said Michael O’Brien, Investcorp's co-head of real estate in North America.

“We remain bullish heading into 2022 and look forward to continuing to grow our platform.” Since 1996, Investcorp has bought more than 1,000 properties worldwide, with a total value of more than $23bn.

The company aims to more than double its assets under management to $100bn in seven years' time, from $37.6bn as of June 30, 2021, Mr Alardhi told Bloomberg in September. Investcorp also set up a new venture with two leading sovereign wealth funds to acquire industrial property assets in the US last year.