Move is a further boost for Middle East investors in US ‘growth corridor’ real estate market

Dubai, United Arab Emirates - 13 September 2020:   The Walton Group of Companies (“Walton”), an international real estate investment company specializing in providing innovative land-based real estate products concentrated on major North American growth corridors, announced that its Exit-Focused Land investment has been endorsed by the Amanie Shariah Supervisory Board (“Amanie”) as a Shariah-compliant investment product.  

Walton’s exit-focused pre-development land investment provides an innovative solution to U.S. public homebuilders as they move to streamline and optimize their land inventory pipelines. 

Walton identifies a parcel of pre-development land that a public homebuilder desires to develop in the near term. Concurrent to property acquisition, Walton enters into an Exit-Focused Letter of Intent with the builder. This allows the builder a fixed period of time to work on their development plan and to negotiate the terms of a phase-by-phase purchase of the property. Once ready to purchase and develop the property, the homebuilder is able to improve their return on capital by aligning land payments with home sales activity. 

In turn, investors benefit from a diversified stream of income for the duration of the development. By working with the largest public homebuilders and focusing on the fastest growing regions in the U.S., Walton is able to offer a unique way for investors to diversify their portfolios with exposure to the fast-growing U.S. housing market.

Bill Doherty, Chief Executive Officer of Walton International Group, said: “We are extremely pleased that our Exit-Focused Land investment has received the endorsement of Amanie.  This is important as our expanding Muslim client base can now be reassured that our investment products are Shariah-compliant. This endorsement provides an opportunity for Walton to offer our land-based investment products in Islamic Finance centers throughout our regions”.

Amanie Advisors is a leading Shariah advisory firm specializing in Islamic finance solutions covering a wide range of services including Shariah advisory and consultancy, training and research and development for institutional and corporate clientele focusing on Islamic financial services.  

Ms. Maya Marissa Malek, CEO of Amanie Advisors said: “We are excited to see this commitment from Walton to tailoring its investment structures to comply with Shariah guidelines. As the Islamic investment industry grows, investors increasingly demand a broader pool of offerings to diversify their portfolios. Amanie is very pleased to be able to provide clarity on structures that satisfy Shariah requirements.” 
Walton established its first Middle East office in Dubai in 2019.  Since its establishment, Walton has seen steady growth and interest in its land investment products.

Tim Haywood, General Manager & Regional Vice President of Walton International Group Limited, said: “Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, our business volume is up year-on-year.  This is the result of the enhancements made to our core product and as investors seek to diversify their portfolios from equity market exposure. Our Exit Focused Pre-Development Land Investment (EFPDLI) product has been designed with cash flow generation in mind which appeals to most investors.”

“Our product competes with the other Shariah compliant investments, such as the Islamic Sukuk market for example, which recently issued a 10-year Sukuk offering a 2.7% profit rate.  We believe that our product can offer a significantly higher rate of return for investors, complementing investor portfolios and providing diversification from more traditional Shariah financial instruments.  With many GCC countries having currency pegs to the USD, investing in a USD asset removes the currency risk exposure they may face when investing in other markets or assets,” added Mr. Haywood.

For over 40 years, Walton has researched, planned and structured pre-development land investments located in the major growth corridors throughout the U.S. and Canada.  Working closely with the largest U.S. homebuilders, Walton specialises in providing innovative land-based real estate products focused on generating short to medium term USD income for investors.