Largest Shariah compliant syndicated financing in the US to-date (BY IFN)

Largest Shariah compliant syndicated financing in the US to-date

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GLOBAL: In a move that is expected to open up the US market to Shariah compliant financing in the real estate sector, The First Investor (TFI), the investment banking arm of Barwa Bank, along with Hines have structured a syndicated financing facility for the construction of the CityCenterDC (CCDC) project in downtown Washington DC. The syndication which was led by JP Morgan, will provide up to US$390 million in Shariah compliant real estate construction financing to the CCDC. According to Khaled Al Sayed, acting group CEO of Qatari Diar Real Estate Company, who are anchor investors in the TFI US Real Estate Fund, the project is Qatar’s first major real estate investment in the US. Khalid Al Subeai, the CEO of TFI said: “The project construction remains on schedule with many high-profile office and retail tenants coming onboard. Optimizing our capital structure further adds value to our investors whose vision has made this project a reality. The attractive financing terms offered by the JP Morgan-led syndicate are a further validation of the project’s profile and strong commercial merits.” CCDC is the flagship investment of the TFI US Real Estate Fund which was launched by TFI in 2010, with the Qatari Diar Real Estate Company, the real estate investment arm of the Qatar Investment Authority having a major stake in the fund. The Fund is advised by Tanween, a Qatari company specializing in real estate development and project management. CCDC will contain more than 185,000sq ft of retail space situated at the base of seven buildings that include 525,000sq ft of office space, 458 rental apartment units and 216 luxury condominium units. Construction for the project began in March 2011 and initial residential occupants are expected to come on board beginning from the fourth quarter of this year.