Investors are positioning for recovery in their markets, and capital is flowing into logistics, multifamily, and data centres at scale.
In the UAE, the dynamics are shaped less by recovery cycles and more by the fundamentals of available opportunities to invest and land availability. Capital is abundant, but the number of investible opportunities is constrained. It is this environment of selectivity, rather than a rebound narrative, that best describes the UAE market in 2025.
Land release and market pathways
Land supply is concentrated in the hands of semi-government master developers. Their release of plots is highly strategic, designed around long-term planning rather than short-term demand. With recent consolidations within Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the master developers holding the land banks are strategically determining both short- and long-term uses, aligning with Dubai’s urban framework and Abu Dhabi’s Strategic Plan to ensure the country’s long-term vision is upheld. While this is happening, we’re seeing a paradox: increasing appetite from regional sovereign funds, family offices, and global managers to allocate into Dubai and Abu Dhabi, yet limited channels for direct deployment. Many large-scale private equity firms are seeking to partner with local sector specialists with on-the-ground expertise in order to access land or standing asset opportunities, outside of the land already designated by the master planning authorities.
For commercial land, the vast majority is master planned and controlled by entities that manage the Emirate’s major economic and free zones (e.g. Modon, Dubai Holding, JAFZA, Dubai South, TECOM etc.) which, in certain instances, permits the release of land for development, often for BTS occupiers, and therefore constrains the quantum of development for private developers and investors seeking exposure to development returns.
Consequently, the volume of capital seeking exposure to sectors such as logistics significantly outweighs the availability of investment opportunities in the market. Many investors and developers are relying on excellent relationships with landowners and authorities which are held by long-standing advisory groups in the market.
Tracking the Money
Unlike in the US or Europe, where fundraising announcements provide a clear window into capital flows, the Middle East is opaque. Family offices and sovereign wealth funds dominate allocations, but disclosures are limited. The result: it is easier to track how much capital is being raised for Asia or Europe than to measure how much is already allocated within the Gulf.
There are, however, signals of growing activity within the region’s financial centres. The number of entities associated with family businesses operating in DIFC has risen to 1,035, up from 600 a year ago – a 73% increase. Foundations are also accelerating, with 842 now registered, up from 548 in the first half of 2024. ADGM issued 1,869 new licences in the first half of 2025, bringing the total to 11,128, while DIFC welcomed 1,081 new active registered companies over the same period, taking its total to 7,700. These numbers reflect a broader trend: capital is becoming more organised and visible, even if its eventual allocation pathways remain selective and difficult to track.
Changing Investor Behaviour
Historically, much of the region’s wealth has been managed conservatively, with family offices preferring to rely on advisors rather than internalised, institutional processes. Compared to Singapore or London, capital structures here can appear less formalised.
That picture is beginning to evolve. Global partnerships, next-generation leadership, and exposure to overseas cycles are introducing more institutional rigour into capital allocation. Investment committees are becoming more professionalised, with a sharper focus on diversification, ESG, and governance.
Local institutions have progressively engaged with international investment partners, thereby attracting substantial capital inflows into the region. Some examples of partnerships of these are:
- Brookfield & ICD (2017, recapitalized 2024): JV for a USD 1bn+ office/mixed-use tower in DIFC, later joined by Lunate and Olayan, showing global and local collaboration.
- Brookfield & Lunate (2025): USD 1bn JV for residential build to sell across UAE/Saudi, reflecting regional capital’s shift to global models.
- Blackstone & Permira / Property Finder (2025): USD 525m growth investment into MENA’s top property-tech platform, global PE backing local ecosystems.
- Arcapita & DSV (2024/25): Build to suit logistics JV in Jebel Ali, showing diversification into industrial real estate with international partners.
- Modon & Candy Capital (2024): Luxury real estate JV linking Abu Dhabi’s Modon with Nick Candy’s family office, blending local platforms with global expertise.
Preferred Destinations for Capital
Two sectors stand out. In offices, Dubai’s Grade A clusters - DIFC, One Central, Downtown Dubai, Sheikh Zayed Road - remain above 95% occupancy with double-digit rental growth. Abu Dhabi’s Grade A stock is even tighter, with 97% occupancy in ADGM and average rents at AED 280 per square foot. Yields of 6.25–6.50% in Dubai compare favourably with European benchmarks that often sit below 6%.
Logistics tells a similar story of resilience. Demand is being shaped by e-commerce, EV supply chains, and regional trade diversification. Corridors like Dubai South, JAFZA, and KEZAD are drawing global occupiers, supported by infrastructure such as Etihad Rail and the expansion of Al Maktoum International Airport.
Logistics has emerged as the sector with strongest investor demand, with both Dubai and Abu Dhabi recording double-digit rental growth for Grade-A prime logistics facilities — averaging 18% and 23% across their respective submarkets. In Dubai, the highest year-on-year increases were seen in Dubai Industrial City (57%), Dubai Investments Park (30%), and Dubai South (25%). Abu Dhabi exhibited similar momentum, led by KEZAD Al Ma’Mourah (58%), Al Markaz (32%), and ICAD 2 & 3 (21%), while ADAFZ posted more modest growth of 8% despite being one of the capital’s earliest established logistics hubs. Overall, with limited new supply and high occupier demand, rental levels in both markets are forecast to continue their upward trajectory.
Where Investors Are Finding Openings
In a market where avenues for deployment are constrained, attention is shifting to less obvious avenues. Legacy landowners and families still control plots or assets from earlier development phases, and these occasionally surface, often outside of formal channels. Access depends heavily on local networks.
Repositioning is also gaining ground. With more than 55% of Dubai’s entire stock is older than 15 years, targeted refurbishment is becoming viable. The recent sale of Aurora Tower in Dubai Media City is a case in point: developed in the early 2000’s and acquired by Sweid & Sweid, the building is set for a targeted upgrade. Centrally located and well-let, it demonstrates how older assets with solid fundamentals can deliver renewed value when repositioned.
Alongside this, investors are increasingly looking at portfolio optimisation. Rather than waiting for new land releases, they are enhancing ESG credentials, subdividing space to meet SME demand, or repurposing obsolete stock. Logistics provides a clear illustration: the expansion of Al Maktoum International Airport has already catalysed pre-leasing activity in Dubai South, with cold-chain, e-commerce, and aerospace-grade facilities attracting global operators. Here, value is being created through careful positioning within infrastructure-led growth, rather than through straightforward new supply.
Navigating Constraints
The reality of the UAE market is that opportunities exist, but they are selective and often difficult to access. The situation is also fluid: as master developers refine their strategies, pathways can open or narrow quickly, requiring investors to stay agile. Global trackers may chart the rise in fundraising, yet they often miss the quieter transactions and strategies - from legacy land sales to targeted refurbishments - that define where real value is being created.
For investors, constraints are both the challenge and the opportunity. In a landscape where land release is tightly controlled and investible assets are limited, success depends less on timing the cycle and more on navigating the pathways that do exist. With deep relationships across semi-government developers, family offices, and private landowners, our vantage point is to connect global capital with precisely these opportunities - limited in number, but meaningful when accessed at the right time.
