Starwood Gets Approval for Dubai Office, Weighs Gulf Investments - Bloomberg
Starwood Capital Group LLC has been granted approval to operate from the Dubai International Financial Centre, the latest alternative asset manager to ramp up its presence in the booming region.
Starwood Capital (DIFC) Limited was authorized on October 17, according to a document seen by Bloomberg News. The firm is in the process of hiring personnel in the region and could consider deploying capital there, a person with knowledge of the plan said, asking not to be identified discussing internal deliberations.
A spokesperson for Starwood declined to comment.
The Gulf region is a crucial source of capital for the world’s largest alternative asset managers, with the UAE’s many sovereign wealth funds and high net worth investors among their biggest investors. At the same time there is growing pressure on firms raising capital in the region to also considering deploying it there as political leaders seek inward investment.
Dubai’s property market is also in the midst of a boom as the emirate is inundated with high earners lured by its low taxes. International investors including Brookfield Asset Management have followed, building and selling vast office towers, snapping up warehouses and planning high end homes.
Starwood has more than $120 billion under management, 7,000 employees and 18 offices globally, according to its website. Outside the US it currently has bases in Amsterdam, Hong Kong, London, Luxembourg, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo but nothing in the Gulf region, the website shows.
The firm, founded by billionaire Chief Executive Officer Barry Sternlicht in 1991, has more recently been ramping up its data center investments and this year raised $2.8 billion for its US, European and Australian real estate debt funds. In June it led a group of investors that won approval for the $7 billion privatization of Hong Kong-listed warehouse operator ESR Group.
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