Leading real estate advisor Savills Middle East has announced the opening of its new office in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to cater to rising demand in the country for professional property services. 

 

This is the second office for the firm in the kingdom, with the first being located in the capital Riyadh, it stated.

 

Through both the locations, Savills aims to cater to the needs of its varied audience base spread across the breadth of the kingdom.  

 

The office, located in the Gravita Co-Working Space, aims to provide a suite of offerings such as commercial agency services including tenant and landlord representation, building and project consulting, property management, facilities management, strategic consultancy and international residential, serving as an extension to the Riyadh operations. 

 

It will be helmed by Philip Paul, a real estate industry veteran with over 30 years of professional property and management experience in the public and private sectors in the UK and Middle East, largely in Oman. 

 

Paul earlier led the Oman operations for Savills Middle East when it was Cluttons, and was instrumental in shaping the business in the sultanate. 

 

He is a registered valuer and during his expansive career has undertaken valuations for a wide range of property types. He also built consultancy experience through development appraisals, financial feasibilities, best use and research studies for a range of project types. 

 

On the expansion move, Harry Goodson Wickes, the Head of Northern Gulf at Savills Middle East, said:  "Opening an office in the second-largest city in Saudi Arabia is a key strategic step for the Savills KSA business, and allows us to build on the strong foundation we have established in Riyadh."

 

"Jeddah has a comprehensive and ambitious urban development plan aimed at transforming the city into a modern, sustainable and vibrant metropolis by 2030," he stated.

 

"Implementing various projects and initiatives across different sectors including transportation, housing, tourism and culture, the plan seeks to enhance the quality of life for Jeddah’s residents by creating a more appealing and sustainable city, enhancing its economic competitiveness, and promoting it as a regional and international hub for trade, tourism and culture. We at Savills are keen to support the realisation of this vision through our service offerings," he added.

 

On his new role, Paul said the dynamic market of Saudi Arabia is abound with growth opportunities. "Increasingly more businesses are setting up here who wish to engage with professional property consultants with regional but also global expertise, and Savills is perfectly positioned to offer this combined advantage," he stated.

 

"The appetite for growth in Jeddah is evident and is only set to increase with the range of projects underway on the north-western coast of the kingdom, and we aim to capture this demand through our well-rounded solutions," he added.

 

Lauding the appointment, Ramzi Darwish, the head of Saudi Arabia at Savills Middle East, said: "Paul is already well versed with the superior level of service delivery we offer, and with the experience he has gained in various markets, including the Middle East, he is well positioned to design tailored and fitting solutions for our clients."

 

"We wish him all the best in his new role and are confident that he will be able to firmly establish our Jeddah operations," he added.-TradeArabia News Service