UAE’s Property Finder raises $90 million debt financing
Summary
Property Finder, which has expanded its operations across the region, including Qatar, Bahrain and Egypt, is now focusing on increasing its market share in Saudi Arabia and Turkey.Dubai-based Property Finder raised $90 million in debt from Francisco Partners to help finance the buyout of its first institutional investor, signalling continued foreign interest in the United Arab Emirates thriving real estate market.The online real estate platform bought back the stake held by BECO Capital, a regional venture capital firm that previously invested in ride-hailing app Careemnow owned by Uberand failed logistics startup Fetchr. It didnt give details.Weve 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.Dubais real estate market has boomed in the aftermath of COVID, largely due to the governments efforts to make it easier for the worlds wealthy to establish a presence in the emirate. It competes with other classified platforms such as Dubizzle and Bayut, whose parent company is backed by Affinity Partners, the investment firm of Donald Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner.Property Finder has expanded its operations across the region, including Qatar, Bahrain and Egypt. Now its focused on increasing its market share in Saudi Arabia and Turkey.JPMorgan & Chase Co. and White & Case acted as advisers to Property Finder on the debt deal, which is Francisco Partners first investment of this kind in the UAE.