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Show notes

The oil-rich economies of the Middle East’s Gulf Cooperation Council have long been essential capital sources for private real estate managers, with the region well-represented among the largest institutional investors in the asset class globally. But for a growing number of firms, Middle-East real estate is now emerging as a destination for capital deployment too.

On the latest episode of The PERE Podcast, we discuss how economic diversification, growth forecasts, regulatory reforms and relative isolation from tariff volatility have prompted several international asset managers to launch or commit to strategies targeting the region over the past year, including Gaw Capital, Blackstone, Brookfield Asset Management, SC Capital Partners and Rava Partners, among others.

But investment in the region comes with its own unique risks, as exemplified this week by news that Saudi Arabia is scaling back previously outlined plans for several ambitious development projects, including the futuristic city known as 'The Line.' Do depressed oil prices, tightening liquidity conditions and continued geopolitical concerns represent a threat to these institutional plays targeting the region? Or are more firms likely to join the rush undeterred? Host Greg Dool sits with PERE’s EMEA editor Charlotte D’Souza and PEI Group’s real estate editor-in-chief Jonathan Brasse to break it all down.

Later in the episode, Brasse sits down with Ghada Sousou, managing partner of executive search firm Sousou Partners, which last year formed a dedicated capital advisory business focused on connecting private fund managers with Saudi Arabian institutional capital.

Further reading:

• PERE's Full-Year 2025 Fundraising Report
• PERE's Global Investor 100 ranking
• Saudi Arabia to scale back Neom megaproject - The Financial Times
• Blackstone forms $5bn Gulf logistics venture
• Gaw Capital's Middle Eastern promises
• Hillhouse's Rava debuts in Gulf with school platform