Emerging Markets Property Group (EMPG), the parent company of UAE real estate portal Bayut.com, acquired Morocco-based property website Mubawab for an undisclosed sum, it said on Tuesday.
“The group will be injecting a substantial amount of funds and expertise into Mubawab, with the singular aim of driving exponential growth across all metrics,” said Haider Ali Khan, chief executive of Bayut.com, who is responsible for EMPG’s international expansion and operations, in a statement to media. He did not disclose how much EMPG would invest in Mubawab under the deal.
EMPG owns and operates a portfolio of property rental and sales websites which include Pakistan-based Zameen.com and Bangladesh-based bproperty.com, as well as the UAE’s Bayut.com, which was set up in 2008 and is headquartered in Dubai Design District.
EMPG has over 1,700 employees spread across the UAE, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The group’s websites draw 7.5 million visits and over 40 million page views every month, according to the company.
The company recorded 124 per cent year-on-year increase in revenues in the first half of 2017, with growth in the UAE 112 per cent up year-on-year in the same period.
________________
Read more:
[ Abu Dhabi rents decline again in Q1 but some units buck the trend ]
[ Abu Dhabi rents in Q1, 2018: All you need to know ]
[ Aldar plans Dh10bn Alghadeer extension near Dubai border ]
_______________
Mubawab is headquartered in Casablanca and was launched in 2011 by entrepreneurs Kevin Gormand and Toni Puig. It has since grown to become the largest real estate portal in Morocco, according to Bayut, listing properties in several Moroccan cities. Its acquisition “bolsters EMPG’s presence in the region further,” the group said.
Under the deal, Mubawab’s founders will continue to lead the portal, while EMPG “injects capital and introduces its data-driven strategy and technology,” according to Mr Khan.
“Morocco is an excellent market with tremendous potential, and…opportunity to develop the real estate ecosystem further,” added Gilles Blanchard, EMPG chairman and co-founder of French property portal SeLoger.
