BLME acquires third property for its Light Industrial Building Fund

The property has been let jointly until 2021 to two high quality household names in the distribution sector. This is the first property purchased in the North West of England and provides further geographical diversification for the fund. The property is ideally located near Warrington in a well established industrial park close to the M6, M62 and M56 motorways. The two other properties in the fund are based near Bournemouth and Kettering.

Derek Weist, Asset Management Director at BLME, said, "BLME launched the Light Industrial Building Fund having seen a gap in the market for Middle Eastern investors looking to expand their UK property portfolios outside of historically popular investments, such as prime London properties. Investors are now looking to diversify at an opportune time in the light industrial building market's cycle."

Weist continued, "We have seen a strong level of interest from a number of corporate and individual investors, partly in recognition of the fact that light industrial buildings have provided a resilient and steady income stream for investors even over the course of the economic crisis."

BLME works closely with COBA Asset Management and Seven Dials Fund Management to source and acquire the buildings. Both have extensive experience in the light industrial sector and work in partnership with Vine Property Management to manage the assets.

Bank of London and The Middle East plc (BLME) is an independent UK wholesale Sharia'a compliant bank based in London. BLME received FSA authorisation in July 2007 and is the largest of its peers in Europe. It is led by a management team that brings together a combination of experienced international bankers and leading experts in Islamic finance.

BLME has three key business areas; Corporate Banking, Treasury and Wealth Management that includes Asset Management and Private Banking.

BLME is dedicated to offering innovative Islamic investment and financing products to businesses and high net-worth individuals in the European, US, Asian and MENA regions. To ensure that BLME's services and operations are wholly Sharia'a compliant, the Bank has a dedicated Sharia'a Supervisory Board ("SSB"). The SSB's role is to review contracts and agreements relating to all transactions ensuring that they are consistent with the principles of Islamic jurisprudence.