Abu Dhabi-based real estate group Aldar Properties has acquired London-based developer London Square for £230 million (AED 1.07 billion).
The transaction marks Aldar’s first acquisition outside the MENA region.
London Square, a premier and leading residential and mixed-use developer operating primarily across Greater London, has a diversified portfolio and delivers homes of all tenures, including as a registered provider of affordable housing, a key operating segment for London Square.
Since its establishment in 2010, London Square has created a development pipeline worth over £2 billion. London Square has completed over 3,500 homes to date and has a pipeline of 930 homes under construction, valued at £425 million.
Aldar intends to optimise London Square’s land acquisition strategy and planning in order to deliver additional world-class mixed-use development schemes across the capital for the benefit of each companies’ complementary customer base.
Aldar said the deal would provide strong opportunities for synergy creation, knowledge sharing, cross-border sales and investment flow, and elevating Aldar’s brand recognition internationally.
Talal Al Dhiyebi, Group Chief Executive Officer 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, and is a testament to the company’s management team, governance framework, and business model which has consistently delivered strong performance. The transaction, which is synergistic in nature, gives us the ability to leverage our mutual strengths, shared values, and common approach to homebuilding to scale London Square while bringing the best of Aldar to bear in the UK’s property market, as we continue to build our foothold outside of the region.”
Adam Lawrence, Founder and Chief Executive of London Square said: “This is an outstanding outcome for London Square. Aldar is an exemplary company with an unrivalled reputation and their strength and breadth of knowledge and experience will enable London Square to flourish and extend its presence across Greater London and the Southeast. Since establishing London Square in 2010, the company has enjoyed significant organic growth, with the support of Ares Management funds for the past nine years. We would like to thank Ares Management for their contribution to the success of London Square. Becoming part of Aldar is the beginning of an exciting new chapter for the future of London Square. We look forward to playing a leading role in tackling the housing shortage by providing more much-needed homes in the capital and surrounding areas where there is a continuing lack of supply.”
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