UAE’s Aldar buys British developer for $291m

Abu Dhabi-listed Aldar Properties has acquired London-based developer London Square in a deal worth AED1.07 billion ($291.4 million).

The transaction marks Aldar’s first acquisition outside the Mena region.

The Abu Dhabi developer plans to leverage its expertise and balance sheet to support London Square’s land acquisition strategy to develop larger prime central London sites.

• Aldar plans European moves after unveiling record sales
• London’s suburban real estate moves Middle East investors
• Aldar says occupancy in its prime office space at 97%

Additionally, the transaction is expected to positively impact sales, given the potential for capitalising on cross-selling across both companies’ global customer networks.

Aldar’s development sales reached AED19.4 billion in the first nine months of 2023.

Talal Al Dhiyebi, group CEO of Aldar Properties, said: “Our recently announced international expansion strategy centres on exploring opportunities to acquire or partner with established operating platforms in our target markets.”

“The acquisition of London Square represents our first market entry outside of the region,” he added.

Since its establishment in 2010, London Square has a development pipeline worth over £2 billion ($2.53 billion).

London Square has completed over 3,500 homes to date and has a pipeline of 930 homes under construction, valued at £425 million.