Sharjah developer Arada has acquired UK-based Regal, with an initial commitment of Dh2.5 billion ($680 million) to the London property market, and is looking to launch new projects in Saudi Arabia and Ras Al Khaimah next year as part of its expansion plans.
The company has bought 75 per cent of Regal, a London based mixed-used developer, which has a pipeline of 10,000 residential units across 11 projects, with a plan to triple that number over the next three years.
“A lot of people are saying or would question this decision [entering London] … [since] it is currently probably in a depressed state when it comes to property prices or sentiment, but that's when we like to enter markets,” its group chief executive Ahmed Alkhoshaibi told The National.
“When you enter in a market when it's not at its best, you can find the right opportunity to acquire the right sites at the right price to deliver on your vision.”
The company plans to fund the new London deal through its own equity, he said. The amount that Arada is investing will be used jointly for the acquisition of Regal, as well as the development pipeline and for buying more sites in London, he added.
The deal opens the developer “to a big market and there are many advantages for Arada”.
“One is staying strategically to our business model, which is to expand outside the UAE once we initially reach a certain level of success in the UAE,” Mr Alkhoshaibi said.
Last year, Arada, a joint venture between KBW Investments ― a company controlled by Saudi Arabia’s Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed ― and Sharjah-based Basma Group, made its international debut by announcing residential projects worth Dh6 billion in Sydney. It also opened an office in Australia’s most populous city as part of its expansion plans.
Arada is also looking to launch new projects in Saudi Arabia and is in talks with sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, to start a new project in the kingdom.
“We’ve been discussing with PIF on a few projects; these talks have gone on, have matured, and are continuing. I'm confident that one of these mega projects, of the PIF projects, will come to fruition,” Mr Alkhoshaibi said.
He did not provide further details but said it will be a “significant size, mixed use, residential project”.
Saudi Arabia is expected to be the next big market for property development as the kingdom continues to carry out reforms to attract investment.
Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia updated its rules to allow foreigners to buy property in specific zones in Riyadh and Jeddah, with special requirements for home ownership in Makkah and Madinah. The decision is expected to further boost the kingdom’s property market.
Mr Alkhoshaibi also confirmed that the developer plans to launch a project in Ras Al Khaimah next year as the emirate continues to attract new investors on the back of the Wynn Resorts development.
The value of the RAK project, with a hotel and residential units, is expected to be in the range of Dh3 billion.
“We acquired land in Ras Al Khaimah a few months ago on Al Marjan Island and are launching our first project,” he said.
Developers including Abu Dhabi’s Aldar Properties, Dubai Investments, Dar Global and Damac Properties are also lining up new projects in RAK as demand for property remains strong in the emirate.
Going strong but slowing down
The UAE’s property market has been booming amid a range of government initiatives and strong economic growth boosted by non-oil activities.
Arada has achieved total sales of Dh13 billion so far this year and is expecting to reach close to Dh20 billion by the end of December amid growing sales in the UAE, according to Mr Alkhoshaibi.
Last week, it sold out 1,051 homes valued at Dh3.6 billion as part of the first two phases of Masaar 3, its forest community in Sharjah. All 2,000 homes at its Masaar 2 development, which was launched in February this year, were sold out in three hours.
“The UAE has been resilient and defying all the statistics or the odds saying that the market will slow down, we feel that the market is really driven a lot this time, by end users, based on underlining demand from the net positive immigration and the increasing demand for people around the world to live in the UAE,” Mr Alkhoshaibi said.
He expects the property market to continue maintaining strong growth this year, but expects the momentum to slow down.
“We’ve had very strong growth the last few years. Will we maintain that same rate of growth? No, of course not. There is going to be a slowdown, but I feel that we still have, based on the demand and based on the supply that's coming to the market, there’s still room for more growth,” he said.
He expects single-digit growth in 2026, compared with double-digit growth this year.
Ratings agency Fitch in a report in May said the real estate market in Dubai is set to enter a “moderate correction” in the second half of 2025 because of a record number of project launches.
The correction – a phase in which price of an asset declines by 10 per cent or more – would run through 2026, but is not expected to exceed 15 per cent, as the strength of the prime real estate segment will support the rest of the market, the New York-based ratings agency said.
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 582bhp
Torque: 730Nm
Price: Dh649,000
On sale: now
Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
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Essentials
The flights: You can fly from the UAE to Iceland with one stop in Europe with a variety of airlines. Return flights with Emirates from Dubai to Stockholm, then Icelandair to Reykjavik, cost from Dh4,153 return. The whole trip takes 11 hours. British Airways flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Reykjavik, via London, with return flights taking 12 hours and costing from Dh2,490 return, including taxes.
The activities: A half-day Silfra snorkelling trip costs 14,990 Icelandic kronur (Dh544) with Dive.is. Inside the Volcano also takes half a day and costs 42,000 kronur (Dh1,524). The Jokulsarlon small-boat cruise lasts about an hour and costs 9,800 kronur (Dh356). Into the Glacier costs 19,500 kronur (Dh708). It lasts three to four hours.
The tours: It’s often better to book a tailor-made trip through a specialist operator. UK-based Discover the World offers seven nights, self-driving, across the island from £892 (Dh4,505) per person. This includes three nights’ accommodation at Hotel Husafell near Into the Glacier, two nights at Hotel Ranga and two nights at the Icelandair Hotel Klaustur. It includes car rental, plus an iPad with itinerary and tourist information pre-loaded onto it, while activities can be booked as optional extras. More information inspiredbyiceland.com
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Tamkeen's offering
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- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE