Dar Global eyes distressed London developments as it warns on policy risk

Dar Global, the international development arm of Saudi Arabia's Dar Al Arkan and a London-listed luxury property developer, is looking to acquire distressed residential schemes in some of central London's most prestigious postcodes, including Mayfair, Belgravia and Knightsbridge, according to AGBI. The company said higher refinancing costs, mounting debt repayments and a string of failed completions have left a number of prime projects vulnerable, creating an opening for a well-capitalised buyer.

Dar Global's leadership also used the moment to press a broader argument: that UK property and tax policy has shifted too frequently under successive governments, making it harder for long-horizon investors to commit capital with confidence. That is a pointed message given the UK's recent changes to non-domicile tax status and stamp duty surcharges on overseas buyers, both of which have been blamed for cooling demand in the prime central London market that Dar Global is now targeting.

The strategic logic is straightforward: distressed assets in London's best neighbourhoods can be acquired more cheaply than at any point in recent years, and a developer with patient, sovereign-linked capital is well placed to ride out a cycle that has punished more leveraged rivals. It also signals continuing Gulf appetite for London trophy real estate even as domestic UK buyers and traditional lenders remain cautious. What to watch: whether Dar Global converts its scouting into actual acquisitions, and whether other Gulf-backed developers follow into a market that has been short of buyers for distressed luxury stock.

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