Al Habtoor Leighton Group (HLG) has entered into a Heads of Agreement with ISG Plc, a leading UK-based fit-out construction company, to merge their respective interior fit-out businesses.

Al Habtoor Interiors will merge with ISG’s Dubai-based project management company to form a new company, to be known as Al Habtoor ISG (HISG), which will quickly become one of the region’s leading interior fit-out companies.

The merged firm will focus on the growing UAE and greater GCC markets.

In support of anticipated growth, the parties will jointly invest up to Dh80 million in the venture over the next three years.

The joint venture will focus on providing:

• Integrated fit-out solutions in combination with HLG’s building capabilities;

• Project management and associated consultancy services; and

• Interior fit-out contracting

The services will cover the retail, hotel, residential and corporate sectors and to ISG’s multi-national clients active in the region

David Savage, managing director of HLG, said: “This is an important development for HLG that represents the ability for us to grow and develop the interiors capability that Al Habtoor Interiors has successfully built up over the years, and another step in our plans to become a full-service, turnkey contractor.

“ISG is a leader in the interior fit-out industry and we’re delighted that we’ve been able to reach agreement with them to establish this exciting new company.

“HLG’s existing workload and long list of prospective projects will ensure that HISG has immediate access to a large range of opportunities in this region.”

David Lawther, chief executive of ISG, said: “We are extremely excited by this partnership – this is a unique opportunity for our business in the Middle East to take a quantum leap forward and to continue to expand ISG in targeted marketplaces overseas.

“We are partnering with one of the Gulf’s leading construction firms with unrivalled access and opportunities in a region where demand for our fit out capabilities is forecasted to grow strongly,” he said. - TradeArabia News Service