Jadwa REIT Saudi in $85m deal for Riyadh retail, office complex

Jadwa REIT Saudi Fund, a Shariahcompliant real estate investment fund, has signed an agreement to purchase Boulevard Riyadh for SR320 million ($85 million).

Fund manager, Jadwa Investment, announced the deal in a bourse filing on Thursday. Boulevard Riyadh is a retail and office complex covering 18,854 square meters and with a built-uparea of 36,340 square meters. The development is leased to multiple tenants and has an occupancy rate of 97 percent, with net operating income of approximately SR29.3 million.

The property is located in Riyadh on Prince Turki bin Abdul Aziz Al-Awwal Road in the capital’s northern Hittin district, an area known as Riyadh Boulevard. According to the statement, the deal was subject to legal due diligence and other regulatory approvals within 180 days from the agreement date.

The transaction

is expected

to have a positive impact on the fund’s financial performance in the first half of this year, the filing said. In its latest financial results, Jadwa REIT Saudi Fund posted a net profit of SR35.67 million for the first half of 2020, compared to SR37.23 million for the same period in 2019, according to data from Argaam.

The decline in net profit was mainly attributed to higher financing charges, management and custody fees, and other expenses, in addition to depreciation of operating investments.

The Pakistan Super League was suspended on Thursday after seven players tested positive for the coronavirus, the country’s cricket board said. The Twenty20 competition, which started on Feb. 20, was put on hold “with immediate effect,” a Pakistan Cricket Board statement said.

“The decision was made after seven cases were reported in the competition,” a statement on the Pakistan Cricket Board website said.

The PCB “will focus on the safe and secure passage of all participants, and arrange repeat PCR tests, vaccines and isolation facilities to the six participating sides,” it added. The seven players included Australian spinner Fawad Ahmed, England’s Tom Banton and Mohammed Faizan, who represents Lahore.