KAMCO and 90 North Deepen Midwest Portfolio
The Kuwait-based investment firm continues to build a portfolio in US secondary markets.
CHICAGO, CINCINNATI—KAMCO Investment Co., a leading investment company in Kuwait, in collaboration with the Chicago office of 90 North, a London-based investment advisory firm, has just made yet another low-risk, high-return investment in the state of OH. It acquired Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Operation Center at 400 Oak St. and 2905 Vernon Pl., a 302,000-square-foot, class A facility, for $75.3 million.
The Kuwait firm, along with 90 North, recently acquired for $107 million a class A office building in downtown Cincinnati that houses GE’s global operations center, one of just four such facilities across the world. And a year ago, the partners acquired a newly developed, 215,000-square-foot, class A corporate headquarters facility at 2900 Easton Square Pl. in Easton, a Columbus suburb. A Fortune 500 tenant leases it on a triple net lease basis for 15 years, with options for three additional seven-year terms.
This trio of acquisitions illustrates the investor’s two-track acquisition strategy in the US – acquiring properties that are newly developed or extensively repositioned and fully-leased to high credit tenants. And in the US, its hard to beat the credit of major health institutions like Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.
“Children’s Hospital in Cincinnati is renowned in the state, across the country and throughout the world,” says Daniel Cooper, the head of North America for 90 North Real Estate Partners, which seeks investments in high-end properties in secondary US markets. “Their commitment to the area, and to establishing this property as their operations center, makes this a unique and well-timed investment.”
The two-building property includes Vernon Manor, a 156,000-square-foot office tower; Vernon Place, a 146,000-square-foot office tower; and two parking lots totaling 1,529 parking spaces. Children’s Hospital leases 100% of the space through 2032, with extension options for two five-year terms.
“This acquisition further represents measures taken by KAMCO towards expanding its portfolio globally through diversified Real Estate Assets,” says Khaled Fouad, chief investment officer of KAMCO. “We are committed towards scaling up our real estate platform across core markets.”