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Alissa with Salah Musa during the signing ceremony held in Istanbul.

Chestertons, Medad launch JV in Saudi Arabia

RIYADH, December 29, 2014

UK-based Chestertons, an international property agency, has entered into a joint venture agreement with Medad Valuation International to establish operations offering consultancy services across Saudi Arabia.

Medad Valuation International is part of the leading Najeeb Abdullatif Alissa Holding Company (NHC), one of the fastest growing conglomerates in Saudi Arabia.

The new joint venture, Chestertons Saudi Arabia Property, will commence operations during the second quarter of 2015, and will be opening offices in Riyadh, Jeddah and Al Khobar simultaneously.

The agreement was signed by Sheikh Najeeb Alissa, the chairman of NHC, and Salah Musa, the chairman of Chestertons International at a ceremony held in Istanbul.

As per the deal, Chestertons will initially provide valuation and consultancy services including portfolio valuations for property companies, banks and financial institutions; corporate valuations for owner-occupiers (accounting purposes/book value); and retail mortgage valuations for bank lending purposes across all asset classes (residential, commercial, offices, industrial, land, mixed-use buildings, hotels and special-purpose buildings).

It will also provide feasibility studies, development consultancy and market research to its local clients.

“Valuations are vital for the industry here as it facilitates transparency and generates the right value based on actual market dynamics,” said Khalid Abdul Ghaffar, senior vice-president of NHC.

“Banks in Saudi Arabia have increased their lending to real-estate end-users by 26 per cent in the fourth quarter, last year, which is the highest level recorded in the last five years. This also means that there is a definite requirement for professional valuation and consultancy services.”

Chestertons will be one of the few companies in Saudi Arabia with the expertise to provide industrial appraisals of primarily plant and machinery, production facilities, stock appraisals (stocks in-trade and transit, inventories) together with power plants and power generating equipment.

Chestertons will also be providing appraisal services for vehicles and heavy equipment including automobiles, trucks and trailers, buses and construction equipment for banks, financial institutions and leasing companies.

“Currently, there is a huge gap within the valuations sector in Saudi Arabia. This challenge needs to be immediately addressed as the country plans to invest several billion dollars within the infrastructure and real estate sectors,” continued Ghaffar.

“We were therefore seeking an industry expert to support us and the industry within the ‘valuations’ and ‘consultancy’ space.  We are proud to have selected a partner that can bring its wealth of global industry expertise to Saudi Arabia and we are confident that this JV with Chestertons will enable us to lead the marketplace.”

Simon Gray, managing director, Chestertons Mena, said: “We are entering Saudi Arabia at the right time and we will combine our regional and international strengths with our partner’s local expertise to serve our valued customers in Saudi Arabia. We are also seeing a lot of interest for valuations from local investors with regard to Saudi based properties.”

“Valuations undertaken by a reputed third-party independent company aids investors across the kingdom to understand the market and also, in case of disputes, assist them with support according to the international accounting guidelines. Chestertons is currently supporting 41 leading banks across the region for property appraisals.”

In addition to valuation services, Chestertons Saudi Arabia will be working with its extensive network of offices across central London, to service Saudi investors looking to invest into the London residential markets either for their own-use or investment purposes.

“As political uncertainty and social instability continues to cause volatility across the region, governments, businesses, financial institutions, banks and families constantly have to re-evaluate their business strategies and plans," Gray said.

"Real estate assets are a major ingredient of business across the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and a key driver of economic growth. The value of these real estate assets are constantly changing in light of all of the above, resulting in the need for up-to-date professional valuation of assets,” he concluded. – TradeArabia News Service




Tags: Saudi Arabia | Joint venture | real estate services | Chestertons |

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