Kenmore Property Group, a trading, development and co-investing property fund manager with operations in Europe and the Middle East, and Saudi Arabian investment banking firm Watan Investments and Securities have signed a memorandum of understanding to form a strategic alliance. The alliance has been created to capitalize on the track record and expertise in finance and real estate shared by the two companies, with a view to providing greater penetration and exploiting new investment opportunities across the markets in which they operate. They expect to see solid growth in Saudi Arabia over the next five years as demographic factors and market liberalization strengthen demand across all sectors of the real estate market. The key aims of the alliance are to provide a structure and conduit for raising funds within Saudi Arabia for investment in Kenmore-managed funds and property investments within the UK and other European countries, and to provide a platform for Kenmore to provide core real estate services of asset and development management in Saudi Arabia, building on its existing capability in Dubai. The partners say they also plan to explore opportunities to create a Saudi-domiciled fund that will invest in the country and throughout the Gulf Co-operation Council region. Watan Investment will act as fund manager and custodian and Kenmore will provide real estate advisory services. They plan to launch the fund next year, market conditions permitting. Watan Investment provides investment banking services such as trading in securities, arranging and advising on public offerings, private placements, debt financing and venture capital, asset and wealth management, custody of securities and investment instruments, and research. Chairman and Managing Director Dr Ihsan Abu-Hulaiga said: “'This strategic alliance provides both companies with access to knowledge, skills and relationships that will enable us to capitalize on opportunities within the Middle Eastern and European real estate markets.” “We are seeing strong appetite from investors to gain access to new markets,” he added. __
