The 159,170 square feet property is occupied and fully let to leading oil and gas service provider Petrofac as their North Sea office headquarters, as well as The Scottish Ministers (NHS), for a long lease term of 14 years.
“The Petrofac acquisition maintains our solid reputation in the UK real estate market, to deliver high quality investment opportunities that generate solid returns on behalf of our investors. Gatehouse Bank’s team of real estate experts sourced an excellent covenant in a major oil and gas provider and favourable real estate lease terms and conditions, to create an attractive offering which investors have capitalised on immediately,” Fahed Boodai, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Gatehouse Bank, said.
“The completion of Petrofac showcases our strengths in reaching a diverse group of investors, which include those from Kuwait, Saudi and Qatar. Gatehouse continues to meet their investor criteria to provide secure, long term returns on real estate investment offerings from the UK market, and takes a leading and competitive advantage in this space with our enviable transaction track record of more than $500million in acquisitions and two successful realised investments,” Abdulaziz Al Duweesh, Executive Vice President and Head of Wealth Management at Gatehouse Bank, added.
Aberdeen sits at the heart of Europe’s oil and gas industry, which over the over the past 25 years has continued to drive the city’s performance as a high-prosperity, high performance market. As such, Aberdeen is recognised as an important driver of the wider Scottish and UK economies and, according to a leading independent report, the Centre for Cities Outlook 2012, it is one of the most economically successful UK cities over the medium term.
“The Aberdeen office market has seen a greater take up of space last year than any other key regional centre outside the south east, and is likely to remain buoyant for the foreseeable future. The severe lack of quality, large floor plated Grade A space, has caused rental values to rise significantly. We understand that investors are typically seeking prime and long income deals with a strong tenant and assured security of income, and we are pleased that we have delivered a strong result for Gatehouse Bank investors,” Adam Cavanagh, Head of Real Estate at Gatehouse Bank, said.
“Gatehouse continues to provide an attractive portfolio of property investments for private clients. With a global real estate portfolio in excess of $500 million, Gatehouse Bank is one of the most active non-institutional investors in the market and specialises in originating, structuring and funding investments in a Shariah compliant manner. To meet continuing investor demand for high quality property investments, Gatehouse provides leading advice and opportunities to investors across a diverse range of properties ranging from office, student and logistics sectors.”
The Petrofac property is split over four floors and provides some of the largest floor plates in Aberdeen. With 142,379 square feet, Petrofac occupy the majority of the building, which is home to a total of more than 1,500 employees. The building itself comprises two parts; Bridge View, constructed in 1998, and Consort House, a purpose built extension added in 2006. The exterior of Bridge View has recently been re-cladded at a cost in excess of £500,000.
Blackcube advised the vendor, Ulster Estates and Nightingale Partners advised Gatehouse Bank.