Gulf Sotheby’s acquires majority stake in SPF Realty

DUBAI / Emirates Business

Gulf Sotheby’s International Realty – the international luxury real estate firm and SPF Realty announce a strategic merger, which will leverage Sotheby’s International Realty world renowned brand and SPF’s expertise in achieving record-breaking project sales in unprecedented timelines. Moving forward, SPF Realty will rebrand and operate under the Gulf Sotheby’s International Realty brand. This is a first of its kind merger making Gulf Sotheby’s International Realty the UAE’s largest real estate company in the market; integrating its Western and Arab clientele with SPF Realty’s large South Asian customer base.
The merger will see a 50% increase in Gulf Sotheby’s International Realty’s current broker count and will also embrace two dominant nationalities in the UAE, making it the largest multicultural company totalling over 100 brokers to date.
George Azar, Chairman of Gulf Sotheby’s International Realty said: “Today is a pivotal moment for us bringing on board SPF Realty – a household name. SPF Realty in 2013, hit target of AED 1.2 billion. The company’s millions to billions performance also saw a record number of 198 villas sold in only 56 days, which is a remarkable number from a local SME.”
Azar continued, “The merger ultimately stems from the decision to continue leading the UAE luxury property sector and to extend our global expertise to a new generation of luxury home buyers from South Asia. The integration with SPF Realty’s team will enable us to extend our offerings to the Indian subcontinent’s prime property buyers, led by a team with a noteworthy track-record and incredible expertise. The merger creates a multicultural company leading in size and strength offering a wide range of services to a multitude of markets in the UAE.”
Azar concluded: “There is no company in the market that has undergone this type of merger. Gulf Sotheby’s International Realty will be the only company in the region that covers a spectrum of clientele ranging from a variety of cultures.”