How 1966 impacted European Real Estate markets
As World Cup fever grips the nation, the year 1966 is remembered with optimistic sentimentality by football fans. We may be over half a century on from England’s last World Cup triumph, but for others, 1966 holds a different significance: it is the year when oil was first discovered in Dubai and the fate of the Emirates nation changed forever.
Watching a time-lapse video of Dubai’s growth is fascinating viewing. Thanks to its oil reserves, in the last 50 years the city has evolved from a fishing village to a global wealth center, boasting some of the world’s most high-value Real Estate. More recently, Dubai has evolved from a location for financial institutions’ frontier offices to a hub in its own right and crucially, a hub for the region itself. World-class schools and a burgeoning cultural scene, new environmental initiatives and infrastructure improvements have all contributed to Dubai’s status as a year-round home for the globe’s HNWIs.
As a result, Dubai is no longer just a market for capital to flow into, but also one from which the tide of capital flows outwards. More and more, we are seeing capital flowing into Europe from Dubai specifically, and the Middle East more generally. Europe, more than any other region remains the primary target of this capital. Whilst strategies have shifted slightly post-Brexit, with a greater focus now on Germany and Nordic Countries, the UK has not fallen out of favor with Middle Eastern investors. Commercial real estate in the UK is particularly popular – the liquidity of this market is highly appealing and shows no signs of faltering. With Middle Eastern coffers increasing with recent oil price hikes, this flow of capital into Europe will only strengthen in the coming months.
Any asset managers interested in finding out more about our thoughts on tapping into Dubai capital can contact us on info@realasset.com or +44 20 3167 3380.