The company’s investment portfolio in the country is worth £330 million. The figure is equivalent to approximately $420 million which is received from income-generating properties leased to high-net-worth companies, GII said in a statement. 

Gulf Islamic has acquired the office property in Birmingham, UK, with two adjacent buildings. The first building is a Priority Court and the second one is a Lewis Building. The two buildings have spaces for offices, retail, and entertainment on the ground floor, which is being multi-let to high-profile tenants on long-lasting leases. One of the major tenants occupying the property is the UK government.

Mohammed Al Hassan, co-founder and chief executive officer GCC, said, “We are very excited to present to our investors this unique opportunity of a high yielding commercial asset located in a strategic and liquid market.”

“Birmingham benefits from a globally integrated transport system including the upcoming HS2—UK’s single most significant infrastructure project scheduled to be operational by 2026.”

Gulf Islamic Investments’ investments in the UK provide investor returns of  8 percent per annum. GII acquiring the office property in Birmingham also reflects UK’s appealing property market despite political challenges such as Brexit uncertainty. 

Al Hassan also added that Birmingham’s robust ‘economic performance’ over the years has positioned it as No.1 in the UK for investment prospects, business startups, and quality of life. GII is a wealth manager located in Abu Dhabi. It also advises the investments of the Abu Dhabi royal family.

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When the last quarterly survey of business sentiment related to Brexit was conducted, only 78% of the businesses surveyed expected a long-term deterioration in the business environment. Deloitte conducted the survey after it became certain that the UK will not leave the EU on the original date fixed for the event—March 29.

Investment in the UK fell for every quarter of 2018 for the longest such decline since the financial crisis of 2008.

Pessimism reigns among UK CFOs with regard to the short-term impact of Brexit as well. Nearly half of the surveyed CFOs expect to reduce their capital expenditures while less than a quarter expect to reduce mergers and acquisitions.

More than half of the CFOs plan to reduce hiring because of the impact of Brexit, according to the survey. A separate survey by Morgan McKinley, a recruitment consultant, shows that London now has only half the number of jobs and jobseekers in financial services since 2017 because of Brexit uncertainty, according to The Guardian.

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