Dubai developer Damac Properties today joined the flood of firms looking to list on the London Stock Exchange as it announced plans for a $500 million (£314 million) float.
Founder and executive chairman Hussain Sajwani will sell an undisclosed stake as Damac looks to take advantage of a bounceback in the Dubai property market following a 60% crash in prices from 2008.
The float would be the first stock-market debut of a Dubai property company since then.
Damac maintained that residential property “has recovered strongly”, thanks to an increasing population and an influx of tourism, and it claimed recent regulatory changes have made Dubai a property safe haven in the Middle East.
Damac will raise the cash through global depositary receipts — equivalent to shares — and Deutsche Bank will ensure the listing is “in compliance with Sharia principles” of Islamic law.
It comes after the UK Government unveiled its first Islamic bond to woo such investors to London.
Meanwhile, Madame Tussauds owner Merlin Entertainments is closing its share sale four days early on Thursday because of strong demand for its £3.3 billion flotation.
Investors are keen after shares in Royal Mail and estate agents Foxtons leapt in the wake of public offerings.
