Kuwait’s Global Investment House, a regional asset management and investment banking firm with offices across the Meja region, has bought two Grade-A commercial offices in north-west England.
The properties are in the Greater Manchester area and will be let to the UK government and Sky, on full repair and insurance leases that are subject to upward only rent reviews.
“The acquisition provides Global investors a Sharia-compliant structure enjoying a stabilised income stream with strong rental growth prospects and expected annualised cash dividends of 9 per cent,” the firm said.
The first property at 6 Knowsley Place in Bury, a suburb near to the city of Manchester, was built in 2011 and covers 14,403 square feet over five floors.
Bury has recently benefited from major regeneration projects including Knowsley Place as well as The Rock (a new open shopping centre) and Dumers Lane (27 acre industrial and residential project to the south of the town centre). Average journey times to Manchester city centre are under 30 minutes
The second property, Saint Peter’s square, is situated in the centre of Stockport, an affluent town 8 miles south-east of Manchester.
The six storey building is let entirely to SKY with a weighted average unexpired lease term in excess of 8 years.
Stockport is one of the largest greater Manchester sub-regional centres, with a vibrant diverse economy and skilled workforce, employing more than 120,000 people in excess of 12,000 businesses, the second-highest figure in Greater Manchester.
The purchase marks the fifth transaction under the the UK National Commercial Real Estate Programme, which Global’s real estate asset management team launched, in partnership with the London based Greenridge Investment Management Limited 2015. The programme was set up to identify off-market investment opportunities outside Central London. Portfolio tenants also include National Air Traffic Services, 3M Co, the National Health Services (NHS) of Scotland and most recently, Hartshead House in Sheffield City Centre, which is primarily let to the UK government.
chnelson@thenational.ae
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Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
- Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
- Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
- Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
- Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
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THREE
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
