Bayut plan’s GCC expansion with acquisition of Lamudi Middle East
Over the years, Bayut has focused on becoming the most reliable real estate portal in the UAE with an impressive reach across the seven emirates. As part of our goal to provide comprehensive real estate solutions to people across the GCC region, we are excited to announce Bayut’s landmark acquisition of Lamudi Middle East, previously owned by Middle East Internet Group. As a part of this acquisition deal, Bayut will take ownership of all Lamudi assets in the GCC, including its real estate portals in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the UAE. The Lamudi Middle East acquisition by Bayut is a step towards fortifying our position as the largest real estate portal in the UAE and the wider GCC region.
Today is a very exciting day for us as we embark on a new journey to start solving real estate issues for the largest market in our region. Our extensive experience in similar markets puts us in a unique position to provide both clients and end-users with a highly sophisticated product that is built to address their needs”, said Haider Al Khan, CEO of Bayut.
About Lamudi Middle East
Lamudi Middle East was launched by Middle East Internet Group and became one of the leading internet platforms in the Middle East. Middle East Internet Group is a joint venture between Rocky Internet and MTN which was also behind other regional startups such as Namshi and Wadi.
Lamudi.sa was the group’s initial venture in the region and became the first ever real estate portal to be launched in Saudi Arabia in 2012. From there Lamudi’s presence grew in the GCC region with expansions into the Jordanian market with Lamudi.jo and Lamudi.ae in the UAE.
Bayut has acquired all these three GCC assets of Lamudi as part of the deal. With the EMPG group’s considerable knowledge and resources, Bayut can further develop these platforms to better serve the needs of end users.
What does the Lamudi ME acquisition by Bayut mean for the company?
This strategic acquisition by Bayut follows the announcement of the recently closed $100 million Series D funding of Emerging Markets Property Group (EMPG), the parent company of Bayut. EMPG is aggressively trying to expand its geographical position and establish itself as the dominant player for real estate solutions in the GCC and other emerging markets in the world. Bayut’s acquisition of Lamudi ME is in line with this vision and will help to enter a new market and provide tailor-made real estate solutions to tenants and investors across the GCC.
EMPG already employs a workforce of over 2,000 people across the UAE, Morocco, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Spain and Romania. The Group’s portals receive over 9.5 Million visits yielding 68 Million page views and generating over 2 Million enquiries per month.
With a network of sites operating in the region, we are also very well placed to maximise consumers’ reach and clients’ exposure across a broader region. Our brand name, Bayut, means homes in Arabic and our story is a very local one, and this is another step in making our brand a household name in the natively Arabic-speaking region. With our experience and ability to deploy significant capital effectively, we are very well placed to solve problems in the real estate markets of the region through technology,” Mr. Khan added
As Bayut acquires Lamudi ME, the company is continuing its upward trajectory to expand its footprint in the GCC.
Bayut has always focused on providing the most locally-tuned solution to the market and the intention behind this acquisition is to take that philosophy to the greater GCC region, with a focus on Saudi Arabia, said Mr. Khan
Bayut.com’s growth over the years
Bayut has already established a strong presence in the UAE real estate market, recording over 100% year-on-year growth over the last 5 years. This acquisition is a calculated move towards expanding our offerings to a wider network, starting with the GCC’s largest property market – Saudi Arabia.
The Bayut family is growing stronger than ever. We are excited to join hands with the Lamudi ME team to build a Pan-Arab organisation that caters to everyone’s real estate needs.
Being the leading real estate portal in the UAE, Bayut.com is constantly on the move to innovate and bring something new to the market. If you’d like to keep up-to-date with our events, achievements and awards, keep an eye out on the Life at Bayut section of the MyBayut blog.
We also recently published our Q1 2019 market reports for Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Check those out if you’d like to know which are the trending communities in those emirates and the respective property prices.
