Nader Fares and the new institutional capital architecture reshaping Gulf real estate

For decades, the Gulf Cooperation Council's real estate markets operated through a familiar choreography: sovereign wealth funds deployed capital at scale, family offices followed on personal relationships, and diaspora investors navigated opaque channels to access trophy assets. That architecture is now undergoing a structural transformation. A new generation of dealmakers, Arab nationals who combine deep regional networks with institutional discipline, is rewriting the rules of capital formation in GCC real estate.

At the center of this shift sits a cohort that includes Nader Fares, CEO of LP Bens; Abdulla Bin Habtoor, CEO of Shamal Holding; Amr Aboushaban, CEO of Allegiance Real Estate; and Abdulaziz Albassam, among others. Each occupies a distinct node in the capital pipeline, yet together they represent a single thesis: the professionalization of private real estate dealmaking in the Gulf requires operators who can translate between sovereign mandates, institutional allocation frameworks, and entrepreneurial execution.

The scale of the opportunity they are pursuing is substantial. The GCC real estate market is projected to grow at a 7.03% compound annual growth rate to reach USD 260.3 billion by 2034, according to GRI Institute research. Dubai alone saw real estate transaction values surge 28.3% year-on-year in the first three quarters of 2025, per GRI Institute data. These figures reflect more than cyclical exuberance. They signal a structural deepening of capital markets infrastructure across the region, one that demands a new class of intermediary.

Who is Nader Fares, and why does his profile matter for GCC capital flows?

Nader Fares represents a category of operator that traditional real estate taxonomies struggle to classify. As CEO of LP Bens, he manages major logistics assets in Brazil, including the Cajamar Logistics Center, according to data from SiiLA and GRI Institute. Simultaneously, he serves as a bridge for Arab diaspora capital flows into the GCC, a function that positions him at the intersection of two of the most dynamic capital corridors in global real estate.

This dual positioning carries strategic significance. The Arab diaspora, spread across Latin America, Europe, and North America, controls substantial private wealth that has historically lacked institutional pathways back into Gulf real estate. Fares's operational credibility in institutional-grade logistics in Brazil, combined with his cultural and commercial fluency in the GCC, creates a connective tissue that pure-play fund managers or local brokers cannot replicate.

The emerging dealmaker cohort to which Fares belongs shares a common trait: each member has built credibility through operational roles before stepping into capital intermediation. This is a meaningful departure from earlier generations, where access to deals often depended on proximity to ruling families or membership in established merchant clans. The new cohort earns its position through demonstrated competence in asset management, investor relations, and cross-border structuring.

How are Abdulla Bin Habtoor and Amr Aboushaban redefining the operator-capital interface?

Abdulla Bin Habtoor, as CEO of Shamal Holding, oversees ultra-luxury hospitality and branded residence projects in Dubai, including the Baccarat Hotel & Residences. His trajectory illustrates how the operator-capital interface in the GCC is becoming more sophisticated. Branded residences, which combine hospitality brand equity with residential real estate economics, require operators who can negotiate complex licensing agreements, manage institutional joint ventures, and deliver product that satisfies both end-users and capital partners. Bin Habtoor's leadership at Shamal Holding places him at the apex of this convergence.

Amr Aboushaban brings a complementary profile. Before founding Allegiance Real Estate, he served as Chief Investor Relations Officer at Damac, where he successfully raised significant capital, according to Property Time and Allegiance Real Estate. His migration from investor relations at one of the Gulf's largest developers to the leadership of an independent real estate firm reflects a broader pattern: experienced professionals are leaving large platforms to build independent vehicles that can serve institutional capital with greater agility and alignment.

This pattern matters for the GCC real estate ecosystem because it creates new nodes of institutional competence outside the traditional developer hierarchy. When an operator like Aboushaban builds an independent platform with institutional-grade investor relations capabilities, he effectively lowers the friction for sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, and family offices seeking exposure to Gulf real estate through channels beyond direct development.

The significance of these individual trajectories becomes clearer when viewed against the regulatory backdrop. Saudi Arabia's Royal Decree No. M/14, the Law on Non-Saudis Ownership of Real Estate, took effect in January 2026, permitting foreign individuals and companies to own property in designated zones across the kingdom, excluding Makkah and Madinah for non-Muslims. This regulatory modernization, combined with Dubai's ongoing freehold expansions and infrastructure investments, creates a structural demand for operators who can guide cross-border capital through newly opened corridors.

What structural forces are creating demand for a new dealmaker archetype?

Three forces converge to explain why this cohort is emerging now rather than a decade ago.

First, the diversification imperative across GCC sovereign wealth funds has intensified. Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, the UAE's economic diversification programs, and Qatar's post-World Cup investment agenda all require private sector operators who can absorb and deploy capital at scale in real estate. Sovereign funds increasingly prefer co-investment structures with credible local operators over direct development, creating demand for intermediaries with institutional credibility.

Second, family office professionalization has accelerated across the Gulf. What were once informal pools of merchant capital managed by a single patriarch are becoming structured investment offices with dedicated real estate allocation mandates, governance frameworks, and reporting requirements. These family offices need counterparts who speak the language of institutional investing, from IRR hurdles and waterfall structures to ESG compliance and third-party valuation standards.

Third, diaspora capital is being formalized. Arab communities in Brazil, Argentina, West Africa, and Europe have accumulated significant real estate wealth in their host markets. As the GCC opens new channels for foreign ownership and cross-border investment, this diaspora capital is seeking institutional pathways home. Operators like Nader Fares, who maintain operational credibility in diaspora markets while building GCC networks, are uniquely positioned to facilitate this flow.

The convergence of these three forces produces a distinct dealmaker archetype: an individual who combines operational experience in real estate or adjacent sectors, cultural fluency across multiple geographies, and the technical sophistication to structure transactions that satisfy institutional due diligence requirements. This archetype is fundamentally different from the developer-entrepreneur model that dominated GCC real estate in the 2000s and 2010s.

GRI Institute's ongoing engagement with this emerging cohort, through its Gulf-focused events and research programs, reflects a recognition that the future of GCC real estate capital markets will be shaped as much by the quality of intermediation as by the scale of capital itself. The institute's member community, which includes both established institutional investors and next-generation operators, provides a platform where these new capital architectures can be stress-tested, debated, and refined.

The implications extend beyond individual careers. As operators like Fares, Bin Habtoor, Aboushaban, and Albassam build track records and institutional credibility, they collectively raise the bar for transparency, governance, and professionalism in GCC real estate transactions. Each successful cross-border deal structured through institutional frameworks rather than personal relationships makes the next deal easier for every participant in the market.

This is the essence of the new institutional capital architecture taking shape in the Gulf. The region's real estate markets have never lacked capital. What they have lacked, until now, is a sufficient density of operators who can translate between the language of sovereign mandates and the mechanics of private real estate execution. The emerging Arab-national dealmaker cohort is filling that gap with a combination of operational credibility, cross-border fluency, and institutional discipline that the market has long required.

For investors, developers, and policymakers watching the GCC real estate sector, the message is clear: follow the operators. In a market projected to reach USD 260.3 billion by 2034, the individuals who control the connective tissue between capital sources and deployment opportunities will shape outcomes as decisively as the capital itself. The names to watch, Nader Fares, Abdulla Bin Habtoor, Amr Aboushaban, Abdulaziz Albassam, are not merely participants in the Gulf's real estate expansion. They are architects of its next institutional chapter.