CMS advises ADIB (UK) on Shariah compliant financing for business park acquisition

International law firm CMS has advised Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB UK), a leading Shariah compliant financial institution headquartered in Abu Dhabi, UAE with an office in London, on an £18.9 million Shariah compliant structured financing for a private United Arab Emirates-based client. 

The financing will be used to acquire The Grange Road Business Park, valued at £29.1 million and located in Christchurch, Dorset. It comprises 15 mixed-use buildings with a total net lettable area of 150,191 sq ft and will provide the the client with a cash-on-cash return of 8%.

Shakeel Adli, Head of Islamic Finance at CMS, comments: “We are pleased to have advised ADIB (UK) on another Shariah compliant structured financing. This deal demonstrates the continued appetite from foreign investors seeking to diversify their portfolios for regional UK real estate.”

Paul Maisfield, Head of UK Real Estate at ADIB, added: “We are delighted to have been able to support our UAE-based client with this highly structured financing solution that meets their specific requirements in real estate finance.”

The CMS team was led by Shakeel Adli (Finance) and Melissa Brett (Real Estate) and included David Stanbridge, Sean Gough, Lily Martin and Adrienne Fisher (Finance); and Will Reed-Simons (Real Estate).

In February 2020, CMS advised ADIB (UK) on two high profile and complex Shariah compliant structured financing deals. With a combined value of £66.6 million, these financing solutions facilitated the refinancing of a private Abu Dhabi-based client’s £195 million central London healthcare facility and the financing of a private GCC-based client’s acquisition of an £11.5 million logistics hub in Edinburgh.