Aquisition is Aldar鈥檚 first outside Middle East and North Africa

London Square has been bought by the largest real estate group in Abu Dhabi in a deal worth 拢230m. 

The 拢277m-turnover residential and mixed-use developer, which operates primarily in the UK鈥檚 capital, is the first acquisition for Aldar Properties outside the Middle East and North Africa region. 

W Hotel, Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi

Source: Aldar

Aldar鈥檚 property portfolio includes the W Hotel, which overlooks the Yas Marina Formula 1 circuit

Aldar recently expanded from its Abu Dhabi base into the Emirates of Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah and has established a presence in Egypt, and the London Square purchase is intended to provide a foundation for expansion into broader international markets. 

The Middle Eastern firm has said it intends to leverage its expertise and balance sheet to support the UK developer鈥檚 land acquisition strategy and enable it to develop larger and prime central London sites. London Square built 502 homes in 2022.

Aldar, whose circular headquarters building was built by Laing O鈥橰ourke, said it was also expecting a positive impact on sales due to the potential for capitalising on cross-selling across both companies鈥� international customer networks. Its development sales during the first nine months of this year were 拢4.15bn.  

 

Talal Al Dhiyebi, group chief executive of Aldar, said the acquisition was 鈥渁 testament to [London Square鈥檚] management team, governance framework, and business model which has consistently delivered strong performance鈥�.  

鈥淭he transaction, which is synergistic in nature, gives us the ability to leverage our mutual strengths, shared values, and common approach to homebuilding to scale London Square while bringing the best of Aldar to bear in the UK鈥檚 property market, as we continue to build our foothold outside of the region,鈥� he added. 

London Square鈥檚 founder Adam Lawrence said the deal was 鈥渁n outstanding outcome鈥� for the business and described Aldar as 鈥渁n exemplary company with an unrivalled reputation鈥�. 

Established in 2010, London Square is perhaps best known for its Nine Elms development in the south-east of the capital. 

It is also the owner of Square Roots, a for-profit registered provider of social housing, .