Permira and Blackstone Takes $525 Million Stake in Property Finder

The Dubai-based real estate marketplace Property Finder has raised an investment of $525 million from Permira and Blackstone.

The Financial Times reports that Permira and Blackstone's investment comes off the back of a bullish outlook on real estate markets in the Middle East.

The half-billion stake was purchased from the current Property Finder backer, General Atlantic, which said it has retained a considerable portion of its original stake taken in 2018.

The investment renews Property Finder's valuation to in excess of $2 billion.

Michael Lahyani, founder at Property Finder, said the UAE’s expanding population has primarily driven accelerated growth in real estate valuations (20% per annum) in recent years, but that this will slow considerably to a "more sustainable number in the next year or two".

According to figures by Reidin, the selling price per square foot of real estate in Dubai has virtually tripled in the past 20 years, from $163 per square foot in 2003 to $490 in 2025. Relaxations in the UAE’s visa regime have encouraged foreign workers—who make up a vast majority of the country’s population—to stay for longer periods, while Dubai has also reportedly benefited from people moving to the Middle East to flee the consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Paul Morrissey, head of Blackstone Growth in Europe, said, "We’re huge believers in the Gulf region, the UAE, Dubai in particular. [The region] has a huge way to run."

Property Finder operates in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and Egypt, as well as being a shareholder in Turkish portal Hepsiemlak. The company has achieved a 'unicorn' valuation and is already profitable. But Lahyani recently spoke out against the likelihood of going public, labelling Property Finder's potential flotation a last resort for companies that have exhausted private investment tactics.

Permira and Blackstone led a consortium to buy the marketplaces conglomerate Adevinta for $13.8 billion in 2024.