UAE developer Arada acquires Britain's Regal in diversification push

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UAE developer Arada acquires Britain’s Regal in diversification push

ABU DHABI: United Arab Emirates real estate developer Arada has acquired a 75% stake in British developer Regal, it said on Monday, marking its second international foray after launching its Australia business last year.

Arada has committed an initial 2.5 billion dirhams ($680.70 million) to acquire privately held Regal, which has a pipeline of 10,000 properties over 11 projects, the UAE developer said, adding that the UK business would be renamed Arada London.

“London is one of the world’s leading cities, and our expansion into this market represents a strategic step for Arada in response to strong demand for residential space,” said Arada Chairman Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi.

More than half of Arada’s financial investment will go towards tripling the existing UK pipeline over the next three years, Arada Group CEO Ahmed Alkhoshaibi told Reuters.

“We’re going to be aggressive. We strongly believe in financially capitalising on the opportunity before the market heats up again. We feel the London market is at a stressing point now, it’s going through some rough times,” Alkhoshaibi said.

Gulf property developers have registered strong growth, driven by rising demand and increased investment as regional oil and gas producers accelerate diversification strategies.

Several other UAE developers, including Damac, Aldar and Modon, have also launched development arms for building properties in the UK through subsidiaries or joint ventures as a way to diversify operations.

“The London residential market is very complicated, and if you’re an outsider, even with a lot of capital, you will struggle and … lose time, so the smarter way is to enter through an acquisition,” Alkhoshaibi said.

Arada, established in 2017 by Al Qasimi, a member of Sharjah’s ruling family, and Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud, the son of Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, has projects across the UAE and Australia valued at more than 95 billion dirhams.

Arada also has plans to enter Saudi Arabia, which Alkhoshaibi said could happen by the middle of next year.