Arada Capital and Alya sign $1.63bn residential co-investment MoU

Dubai, UAE - Arada Capital, part of Arada Group, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Alya to develop and co-invest in premium residential and mixed-use projects in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

To begin with, the partners will concentrate on two housing projects whose gross development value (GDV) together is expected to reach about $1.63 billion (AED 6 billion), the two companies said.

Both schemes are drawn from a larger list of opportunities the two sides will review jointly, with Downtown Dubai and Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island among the locations under study.

None of them is confirmed yet: each depends on due diligence, a commercial agreement and the approvals required.

Under the arrangement, Arada Capital brings access to Arada Group’s existing development pipeline and the group’s experience in building large-scale communities.

Alya, launched as an institutionally owned developer of premium homes in the GCC, adds its own skills in developing schemes and creating value. The partners said it would also apply institutional standards to governance, delivery and the discipline with which capital is used.

The platform is backed by Brookfield and Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based global investment firm that manages more than $125 billion in assets. Alya opened its regional headquarters at Dubai International Financial Centre earlier this month. Its regulator is the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA).

Otto Dreyer, Chief Executive Officer of Alya, said: “Successful developments are built on strong partnerships, mutual trust, shared objectives and a commitment to creating long-term value.”

He added: “Alya brings development expertise, institutional governance and capital discipline to premium residential development across the GCC. For us, quality runs through every stage, from initial thinking and design to execution, handover and customer experience.

“This proposed partnership combines those strengths with Arada’s established track record in creating communities. Our shared ambition is to create homes of enduring quality and value, for the people who live in them and those who invest in them.”

Moustafa Fahour, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Arada Capital, said: “This partnership represents an important milestone in Arada Capital's ambition as a fund manager. By combining Arada Group’s established development capabilities and access to high-quality opportunities with Alya's institutional expertise and the strength of its backing from Brookfield and Lunate, we see significant potential to bring forward premium residential projects distinguished by their quality, thoughtful design and disciplined delivery.”

He added: “The UAE and Saudi Arabia continue to present compelling long-term opportunities, and our focus is on bringing together the right partners, capital and expertise to deliver sustainable value for investors and communities alike.”

The companies said they share the view that residential development should start from a clear understanding of the place, the community around it and the people who will live there. The partnership is meant to apply disciplined decision-making and institutional oversight to that approach, they said.

Arada Capital is Arada’s proposed funds management arm. It is still meeting the conditions attached to an In Principle Approval (IPA) issued by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), and will open its offer to professional investors once its Financial Service Permission is granted, the release said.

Arada, which launched a Saudi unit with a $13.3 billion land portfolio in October, puts the value of its project pipeline at $50 billion, with over 70,000 homes in its portfolio across the world.

The companies described the MoU as an initial step towards a longer-term collaboration.