Property Finder, a Dubai-based company, raised $90 million in debt from Francisco Partners to assist in funding the acquisition of its first institutional investor, indicating ongoing foreign interest in the booming real estate market in the United Arab Emirates.
The regional venture capital firm BECO Capital, which had invested in the now-owned Careem ride-hailing service and the now-defunct logistics startup Fetchr, repurchased its investment in the online real estate site. The agreement, according to it, enables BECO to leave “with a strong return on its investment.” It provided no information.
“We’ve seen tremendous growth in the real estate market across the entire UAE, not just Dubai,” said Michael Lahyani, chief executive officer and founder of Property Finder. The company is valued at about $1 billion, joining the relatively small but growing roster of Middle Eastern unicorns, Lahyani said.
In the wake of COVID, Dubai’s real estate market has exploded, partly because of the government’s initiatives to facilitate the establishment of affluent individuals’ presence in the emirate. Its growth was different from other global main markets.
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According to Lahyani of Property Finder, the domestic market is poised for a soft landing as prices begin to level off.
Property Finder was founded in 2007 with the goal of profiting from Dubai’s rapidly expanding real estate market. In 2018, General Atlantic provided funding. It faces competition from other classified websites including Dubizzle and Bayut, whose parent company is supported by Jared Kushner’s investment firm, Affinity Partners, which is owned by Donald Trump’s son-in-law.
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Property Finder now operates in other countries in the area, such as Egypt, Bahrain, and Qatar. Its current priorities are growing its market shares in Turkey and Saudi Arabia.
Property Finder received advice on the loan deal from JPMorgan & Chase Co. and White & Case. This is Francisco Partners’ first investment of this kind in the United Arab Emirates.
About Property Finder
Property Finder is a prominent real estate platform that serves the sales and rental market in Egypt, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Qatar.
