Thakral announces real estate investment programme with Aberdeen

Mainboard-listed Thakral Corporation announced that it has established a programme with investment management group Aberdeen Asset Management Asia to invest in Australian real estate projects.

Its subsidiaries, TCAP Investments Limited and Thakral Capital Australia Pty Ltd (TCAP), signed the documents for the TCAP Australian Mezzanine Programme on Wednesday.

The programme will focus on projects on the East Coast, particularly in the central business districts and developed suburbs of Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.

TCAP, a manager and investor of wholesale and third-party funds, will be the initial investor in these projects, maintaining the right to invest in preferred equity or mezzanine debt.

The programme is established through a trust in Australia and has a term of six years, although it is subject to extension with the agreement of Aberdeen.

It has also been agreed that TCAP will manage the programme, with responsibilities including: deal sourcing, due diligence, underwriting, valuations and the management of the investments.

Jaginder Singh Pasricha, Thakral Corporation's managing director of investments and corporate, said: "The programme gives us better access to capital for our projects.

"Having Aberdeen as an investor demonstrates that we have the confidence of global fund managers to manage their capital prudently and provide strong returns ... With the backing of Aberdeen, Thakral will have greater flexibility in sourcing capital for deployment alongside our own capital in its projects."