Emerging Markets Property Group (EMPG), the parent company of UAE real estate portal Bayut.com, closed a $50 million investment tranche as part of a larger fundraising round intended to fund future acquisitions.
Of the total, $25m is to be deployed in the UAE with a focus on “further consolidation”, said Haider Ali Khan, chief executive of Bayut.com, in a statement on Thursday. “The remaining funds will be used to further strengthen EMPG’s leading position in its other markets,” he said. The names of the investors were not disclosed.
EMPG owns and operates a portfolio of property rental and sales websites that also includes Pakistan-based Zameen.com and Bangladesh-based bproperty.com, and in May acquired Morocco-based property website Mubawab for an undisclosed sum.
EMPG has raised $60m through four previous rounds. The current round is its largest to date, bringing the total to $110m.
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Read more:
Bayut owner EMPG acquires Moroccan real estate website Mubawab
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The group has presence in 40 cities across the UAE, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Morocco, Spain and Romania with over 1,500 employees. Bayut.com was set up in 2008 and is headquartered in Dubai Design District.
“With a compound annual revenue growth rate of over 100 per cent over the last five years, more than 15,000 real estate agencies, and 8 million-plus monthly visits across our portals, EMPG is ideally positioned for regional dominance,” the company’s group chief executive Imran Ali Khan said.
EMPG recorded 124 per cent year-on-year increase in revenues in the first half of 2017, with growth in the UAE 112 per cent up year-on-year in the same period, the company told The National in May.
if you go
The flights
Fly to Rome with Etihad (www.etihad.ae) or Emirates (www.emirates.com) from Dh2,480 return including taxes. The flight takes six hours. Fly from Rome to Trapani with Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) from Dh420 return including taxes. The flight takes one hour 10 minutes.
The hotels
The author recommends the following hotels for this itinerary. In Trapani, Ai Lumi (www.ailumi.it); in Marsala, Viacolvento (www.viacolventomarsala.it); and in Marsala Del Vallo, the Meliaresort Dimore Storiche (www.meliaresort.it).
What is Folia?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal's new plant-based menu will launch at Four Seasons hotels in Dubai this November. A desire to cater to people looking for clean, healthy meals beyond green salad is what inspired Prince Khaled and American celebrity chef Matthew Kenney to create Folia. The word means "from the leaves" in Latin, and the exclusive menu offers fine plant-based cuisine across Four Seasons properties in Los Angeles, Bahrain and, soon, Dubai.
Kenney specialises in vegan cuisine and is the founder of Plant Food Wine and 20 other restaurants worldwide. "I’ve always appreciated Matthew’s work," says the Saudi royal. "He has a singular culinary talent and his approach to plant-based dining is prescient and unrivalled. I was a fan of his long before we established our professional relationship."
Folia first launched at The Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills in July 2018. It is available at the poolside Cabana Restaurant and for in-room dining across the property, as well as in its private event space. The food is vibrant and colourful, full of fresh dishes such as the hearts of palm ceviche with California fruit, vegetables and edible flowers; green hearb tacos filled with roasted squash and king oyster barbacoa; and a savoury coconut cream pie with macadamia crust.
In March 2019, the Folia menu reached Gulf shores, as it was introduced at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, where it is served at the Bay View Lounge. Next, on Tuesday, November 1 – also known as World Vegan Day – it will come to the UAE, to the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach and the Four Seasons DIFC, both properties Prince Khaled has spent "considerable time at and love".
There are also plans to take Folia to several more locations throughout the Middle East and Europe.
While health-conscious diners will be attracted to the concept, Prince Khaled is careful to stress Folia is "not meant for a specific subset of customers. It is meant for everyone who wants a culinary experience without the negative impact that eating out so often comes with."
