London developer targets doubling sales in GCC amid Brexit turmoil

UK real estate developer Regal London aims to double its sales from the GCC over the next five years, with the opening of a Dubai office last month to court the growing pool of investors seeking cheap deals ahead of Brexit. “Dubai is a hub for servicing the [Arabian Gulf] region – everything goes through here,” said BehrangJalali, director, Middle East and North Africa, at Regal London. This year, 18.5 per cent of Regal London’s total sales were to investors from the GCC, and the proportion has remained steady at around 12 per cent on average for the last five years. There was a noticeable dip in purchasing activity from the GCC in the months after the UK’s vote to leave the European Union in June 2016, which spooked investors, “but as time has gone by, people are coming back”, Mr Jelali said. Middle East investors, including sovereign wealth funds, were expected to buy more overseas property in 2018 as oil prices rebounded from a three-year low, broker JLL said in a report in May. Outbound regional flows into global property were expected to pick up following a 25 per cent drop to $9.1 billion in 2017. It has five projects in the UK capital, at various stages of completion. Two schemes in King’s Cross and Queen’s Park are awaiting handover, two in West Kensington and St John’s Wood are due to be completed in the first half of 2019, and a scheme in Shoreditch is targeted for delivery in 2020. The company has no plans to build any projects outside the UK, Mr Jelali said. However, it is expanding its network of international sales offices to tap into overseas buyers and in November opened its first Middle East office, in Downtown Dubai, which has interactive screens enabling prospective buyers to explore London projects. It also has offices in Shanghai and Hong Kong. The company plans to grow its Dubai office to 10 staff by the end of next year, from four, in line with targeted sales growth, the director said. In particular, Regal aims to capitalise on growing interest in UK real estate from markets with US dollar-pegged currencies, such as the GCC.