IBC Group aiming to purchase 10,000 properties in Dubai
Dubai: The IBC Group has announced its intention to purchase 10,000 luxury properties in Dubai, which it will furnish and manage as holiday homes / vacation rentals.
In the same announcement, the group revealed it had contracted Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Gulf Properties (BHHS) on an exclusive basis to play an advisory brokerage role to assist in identifying, acquiring and financing the properties.
The deal is being valued at $5 billion, with a potential scale up to acquiring one million properties in more than 100 cities around the world.
Having operated in the UAE since 2014, The IBC Group hopes that the latest strategic partnership with BHHS will allow it to grow its influencer status in the region and enhance confidence in the Middle East’s burgeoning real estate industry.
The IBC Group is bankrolled by global banking and finance leader, Khurram Shroff, who co-founded global short-term rental management firm, The Gallery Suites Vacation Rentals, which provides specialised services to property investors, homeowners and Airbnb hosts worldwide.
With the acquisitions being financed by an Islamic finance vehicle called Sukuk, Shroff said the group believed in ‘interfaith harmony and caters to all beliefs’, including making provisions for Muslim travellers to practise their religion when on the move.
The move has been fuelled by the perceived potential for growth opportunities in Dubai’s short-term rental accommodation market, with the Expo 2020 event on the horizon
The city’s government has pinpointed the need to position Dubai as an innovative global hub for finance, logistics, tourism and trade, as it anticipates welcoming up to 25 million visitors to the upcoming Expo. Many of those visitors from across the world will be seeking fully-furnished short-term rental properties in which to stay over the duration of the 173-day event which opens on 20 October 2020.
Shroff said: “This partnership represents the coming together of organisations that each bring specific strengths to the table, which will ensure the delivery of the highest possible standards of services and facilities in the Dubai short-term accommodation market“.
Dubai is being seen as an increasingly lucrative investment proposition for investors and corporations, with yearly rental demand is being reduced at the same time as annual rent prices are falling. This allows for businesses and investors to offer more medium- and long-term rental possibilities as travellers can pay to stay in aspirational properties at more affordable properties than previously envisaged.
For more information, visit The IBC Group website here.
In further signs of growth in Dubai, Maison Privee has signed a deal to manage a US$100m luxury villa portfolio on Palm Jumeirah. For more information, read the full story here.
