Executive Insight – European investors look to Lebanese real estate

In August this year, Capstone Investment Group was trying to conclude the acquisition of a prime piece of land on Abdel Wahab El Inglizi Street in Ashrafieh. As part of our private equity activities, we invite a select group of high-net-worth individuals to join us in each investment, and allow them up to two weeks to send us their indications of interest. In that specific deal, and since everyone perceived the real estate market in Lebanon to be bearish, we gave investors one month to get back to us. However, within only a week, the deals were two and a half times oversubscribed; demand came from Lebanon and the Middle East as well as Europe, not only from Lebanese or Lebanese expatriates but European individuals and institutions. Of course, we were only able to accommodate a limited number of investors, but the unusual interest from Europe was baffling. After all,