AN OFFICE complex near Newport has been sold in what is being billed as South Wales' largest commercial property deal in the past 12 months.

The office block, in Celtic Springs, has been sold by Gulf Islamic Investments Group (GII) to the Al Wazzan family’s real estate company (AW Properties) for an undisclosed amount.

GII, a UAE-based global alternative investment company with more than $3 billion of assets, acquired the office complex in 2015 as its first UK real estate deal.

The transaction marks AW Properties’ debut UK real estate deal, with the asset comprising three fully-let, high-quality office buildings of more than 150,000 sq ft to a single tenant.

This is being billed as the largest commercial property deal in South Wales in the past 12 months, and the biggest real estate transaction in the business parks along the M4 transport corridor for several years.

Pankaj Gupta, co-founder and co-chief executive of GII, said: “This investment is testimony to GII’s stringent selection criteria and hands-on asset management, fostering above-average returns for its investors.”

Rawia Guedri, chief financial officer of Al Wazzan Family Office, said: “We are delighted that our debut commercial property acquisition in the UK involves a well located office with strong fundamentals and income growth opportunities.”

Knight Frank advised AW Properties and Knight Frank Capital Advisory acted as the debt advisor to the buyer. Greenwoods was the solicitor acting on behalf of AW Properties.