Arada ventures into London with Regal buyout: Sharjah-based Arada bought a 75% stake in British developer Regal, with an initial investment of AED 2.5 bn earmarked for its expansion, it said in a press release. It bought the stake from a UK-based private family office, the Financial Times reports. The transaction — which marks Arada’s entry into the UK market — will see Regal rebranded as Arada London.

In case you don’t know: Arada is owned by Sharjah deputy ruler Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi and Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal, the son of a b’naire Saudi investor.

The acquisition hands Arada control of a 10k-unit pipeline across 11 London projects, with plans to more than triple that over the next three years. Regal has delivered some 4k homes and 1 mn sq ft of commercial space, with offices in Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. Its existing management team will stay on after the acquisition, the statement said. Its 2024 accounts showed short-term debts of GBP 252 mn and investment property worth GBP 196 mn as of March last year, the salmon-colored paper wrote.

The move marks Arada’s second international acquisition, and comes a little over a year after Arada launched its first office in Australia with a AED 6 bn Sydney pipeline. Arada’s projects in the UAE and Australia have a combined value exceeding AED 95 bn, encompassing more than 42k units, of which over 10k have already been delivered.

The UAE’s property boom has been pushing local developers to expand beyond home soil. Emaar Properties is also weighing acquisitions in the US, India, China, and parts of Europe, as the board considers an acquisition-led global strategy to drive expansion abroad. Abu Dhabi’s Modon has also been pursuing a global push, acquiring Spanish developer La Zagaleta, and investing in London through the acquisition of a 50% stake in a London skyscraper earlier in January. Its subsidiary, Adnec’s Excel London, also recently acquired London’s BDCG Holdings, while Aldar Properties also acquired London developer London Square in 2023.

The timing also coincides with a UK policy push. The UK government pledged to deliver 1.5 mn new homes within five years, though analysts warn that rising borrowing costs and softer demand may undermine that goal, FT wrote.
Emirati developers are also opening outposts in the UK, with developers like Binghatti, Danube, Damac, and Sobha establishing London offices or development arms there.

Plenty of developers are also looking to tap public markets, with Arada saying it plans to IPO by 2028.

ADVISORS- Rothschild & Co quarterbacked the transaction as Regal’s sole financial and strategic adviser. There’s no publicly available information about the buy-side advisors.

The story was also picked up by Bloomberg, Reuters, and The Times.

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