Leading Middle East consultancy firm ValuStrat said it has acquired a majority shareholding in Capital Chartered, a UK firm specialising in various real estate advisory services including property valuations, building surveys, RICS HomeBuyer Reports, lease extensions and enfranchisement services.

Capital Chartered is a reputable, RICS-regulated firm that has been successfully operating in London for over a decade.

As per the deal, ValuStrat will supplement Capital Chartered’s real estate offering in the UK with additional consulting services, both in real estate and other non-real estate sectors; services that it already provides to its large client base in the Middle East, such as strategic advisory, business planning, research, business valuations, plant and machinery valuations, due diligence and industrial consulting.

The acquisition of a UK real estate consultancy company by a Middle Eastern firm is a unique transaction, which will further enhance ValuStrat’s geographical reach as well as its corporate profile and brand image.

On the strategic move, ValuStrat’s chairman Shahid Umerani, said: "After creating a successful network of offices in the Middle East, we look to expand beyond this region and have chosen UK as our initial destination."

"We will endeavour to maintain this trajectory and continue our efforts to identify and grow into other prominent locations and financial hubs across the world. Dubai will remain our centre of excellence and our headquarters, from where we will fuel our ambitions and goals," stated Umerani.

Dubai-headquartered ValuStrat is a leading consulting group that has been providing advisory, valuations, due diligence, research and industrial consulting across a diverse range of industry sectors since 1978.

With offices in the UAE, UK, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Qatar, it serves over 1,000 corporations, ranging from government and large multinationals to local corporations, family businesses and SMEs.

Group CEO Shahid Kazi said: "This is a major milestone in ValuStrat’s growth story and our whole team is excited and energised at this acquisition. There is a strong nexus between the UK and the Middle East, and we are now ideally positioned to maximise this business potential for the benefit of our clients."

"The UK is one of the oldest and most well-established real estate markets in the world, so it is exciting for any real estate professional to be working there," noted Kazi.

Declan King, MRICS - Managing Director & Group Head of Real Estate, ValuStrat, said: "Several of our existing clients in the Middle East have active presence in the UK and it gives us great pleasure that we can now serve them in the UK as well."

Fraser Maldoom, FRICS – director, Capital Chartered, said: "We are delighted to deliver our company into the ValuStrat Group, whose strong infrastructure and diverse consulting services will provide support and depth from which we can grow our London expertise into new areas of work."

Robin Jones, MRICS – director, Capital Chartered was equally enthusiastic. “This is a great step in Capital Chartered’s evolution, a testament to the quality of services that we provide and endorses the strength of our reputation and presence,” he added.

Following the move, Maldoom and Jones will continue working in Capital Chartered as directors while retaining minority shareholding.

Salonica Group, an independent investment bank headquartered in London, acted as advisors for this deal, with its director Othman Shoukat leading the transaction.

"This acquisition will bring exciting prospects; combining ValuStrat’s international capabilities and scale with Capital Chartered’s local market expertise and experience will provide for a compelling proposition for the UK market," he added.-TradeArabia News Service