Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

Canada’s Brookfield invests in UAE warehouse sector

By Pramod Kumar
The Gulf Islamic Investments logistics real estate platform owns 1.5m square feet of high-quality warehouses in the UAE Unsplash.com/Ruchindra Gunasekara
The Gulf Islamic Investments logistics real estate platform owns 1.5m square feet of high-quality warehouses in the UAE

Canadian company Brookfield Asset Management has acquired a controlling stake in a portfolio of warehouses owned by the UAE’s Gulf Islamic Investments (GII), as it takes advantage of continuing growth in the region’s ecommerce sector.

The value of the deal was not given.

The portfolio includes 1.5 million square feet of high-quality warehouses across the UAE.  

Person, Electronics, Mobile Phone

Newsletter
Get the Best of AGBI delivered straight to your inbox every week

Due to increasing interconnectivity, the region is witnessing enhanced integration of Gulf economies, leading to a surge in demand for logistics assets, said GII co-founders and co-CEOs Mohammed Alhassan and Pankaj Gupta.

CRC (Commercial Real Estate Consultants), an affiliate of Dubai real estate conglomerate Betterhomes, reported in its 2023 report that it saw a 132 percent rise in the number of buyer leads in the warehouse sector in Dubai last year.

With demand high, real estate consultancy company CBRE said in a February report that at the end of 2023 average rental rates in the industrial and logistics sector rose 7 percent in Abu Dhabi and nearly 15 percent in Dubai.

Much of the increased demand for real estate in the warehouse and logistics sectors can be attributed to the rapid growth of the UAE ecommerce sector.

A report by Mordor Intelligence valued the sector at nearly $9 billion in 2023 and predited it will nearly double in size by the end of the decade.

Brookfield and its partners already own and operate 3 million square feet of commercial real estate in the region, including ICD Brookfield Place in Dubai International Financial Centre. 

Dubai’s sovereign wealth fund Investment Corporation of Dubai and Brookfield last month sold a 49 percent stake in ICD Brookfield Place to Abu Dhabi alternative investment fund Lunate and Saudi Arabia-based Olayan.

The Canadian alternative investment company’s logistics portfolio spans over 80 million square feet across five continents. Globally, Brookfield has around $900 billion worth of assets under management.

GII manages more than $4.5 billion in assets and has been actively investing in logistics real estate since 2018. It is currently focusing on acquiring, repurposing and developing facilities for transport and ecommerce companies across the GCC.

Latest articles

Lesha Bank said the investment in Edinburgh Airport 'marks the bank’s entry into the global infrastructure investment market'

Qatari bank buys stake in Edinburgh Airport

A sharia-compliant Qatari investment bank has acquired a minority stake in Edinburgh Airport through an infrastructure-focused investment fund. “This investment aligns with the bank’s strategic focus on resilient asset classes and marks the bank’s entry into the global infrastructure investment market,” Lesha Bank said in a press release. Edinburgh Airport, Scotland’s busiest and the sixth […]

Oman oil blocks

Oil output increase of 30% sought in Oman block offer

Oman is planning to offer 11 new oil concession blocks across the country this year, as it seeks to raise production by a third by the end of the decade. The ministry of energy and minerals, through the state-run company OQ Exploration and Production (OQEP) and the Canadian-based Scotiabank, have started marketing the potential blocks. […]

Unemployment in Oman was down to 4 percent at the end of last year

Oman to increase minimum wage to offset inflation

Oman is planning to increase the minimum wage by a fifth to counter higher costs of living, according to manpower minister Mahad Baawain.  Baawain said in a radio interview that the cabinet is considering a recommendation to raise the minimum wage to OR400 ($1,035) per month. “We have already made a decision to increase the […]

The Bharat Petroleum refinery in Mumbai. Bharat is one of two companies Aramco is looking at

Saudi Aramco considering investment in Indian refineries

Saudi Aramco is in talks to invest in two planned refineries in India as the world’s top oil exporter looks for a stable outlet for its crude in the world’s fastest-growing emerging market, several Indian sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. India, the world’s third-biggest oil consumer and importer, wants to become a […]

SMC intends to open three moree hospitals in Riyadh, which will become operational before 2029

Hospital operator SMC given approval for Saudi IPO

Specialized Medical Company (SMC), which operates two hospitals in Riyadh, has received approval from Saudi Arabia’s Capital Markets Authority to launch an initial public offering (IPO). The announcement allows SMC to issue 75,000 shares, representing 30 percent of its share capital. No further details about the listing were released. SMC’s CEO, Bassam Chahine, told AGBI […]

Many workers in Saudi Arabia are seeking a return to more structured corporate environments, even if it means sacrificing salary and benefits, one expert says

Saudi jobs growth ‘likely to halve’ as PIF reins in spending

Employment growth in Saudi Arabia will halve by 2026 as the kingdom reins in spending and focuses on delivering Vision 2030 projects, recruitment and real estate specialists are saying. Growth in recruitment for jobs in the Saudi economy, after hitting a high of nearly 10 percent in 2022, will slow to 3 percent by 2026, […]

Tabreed's possible bid comes after it was awarded the concession last year to provide district cooling to Dubai's Palm Jebel Ali

Tabreed explores buying Multiply’s cooling business

National Central Cooling Company, also known as Tabreed, is exploring a bid for Multiply Group’s district cooling business that could be worth at least $1 billion, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Dubai-listed Tabreed is working with Citi on the potential offer for Multiply’s PAL Cooling Holding (PCH), said the two sources. […]

Traders on the floor of the Kuwaiti bourse. The government said the new law will push forward economic development in line with Vision 2035

Law change enables Kuwait to tap global debt markets

Kuwait can now borrow money from international markets after an eight-year hiatus. The government has issued a new law that sets the public debt ceiling at KD30 billion ($97.4 billion) and allows the issuance of financial instruments with maturities extending up to 50 years, the state-run Kuna news agency reported. The law will bolster financial stability and […]

The new investors will help accelerate Khazna’s global expansion plans, said CEO Hassan Alnaqbi

MGX buys stake in Dubai’s Khazna Data Centers

UAE technology investment company MGX and US private equity company Silver Lake have bought a minority stake in Dubai-based Khazna Data Centers. Following the deal, UAE telecommunications company e& – formerly known as Etisalat – has exited from its investment in Khazna but remains a major business partner, Khazna said in a statement. Transaction and financial […]

A view of Marrakesh. Morocco is investing heavily in infrastructure projects ahead of the World Cup

Morocco raises $2.2bn to fund World Cup projects

Morocco has reportedly generated €2 billion ($2.2 billion) in new loans to fund developments needed to co-host the 2030 Fifa World Cup. The euro-denominated bonds are the first to be issued in five years, Bloomberg reported. The four- and 10-year bond tranches were priced at 155 and 215 basis points, narrower than the previous estimate, […]

The twisted Cayan Tower in Dubai Marina is among Drake & Scull's projects.

Drake & Scull swings to $1bn profit post-restructuring

Drake & Scull International turned a profit last year following the completion of its restructuring plan. The contracting company, which trades on the Dubai Financial Market, swung to a net profit of AED4 billion ($1 billion) last year, compared to a net loss of AED367 million in 2023. Revenue marked a 20 percent rise to […]