Building for the global buyer

Real estate is one of the most stubbornly local businesses in the world. Developers spend decades mastering a single city, sometimes a single district, learning its planning rules, construction costs and political rhythms. Expanding beyond those boundaries is notoriously difficult.

Dar Global is trying to build something different: a developer designed for the global buyer.

Designing luxury for a borderless generation of global property buyers

The London listed company is positioning itself around a new class of internationally mobile investors whose lives and assets increasingly span several countries. Rather than focusing on one domestic market, Dar Global is creating luxury residential projects that appeal to buyers who think globally about lifestyle, investment and mobility.

“We exist to serve the global citizen,” says Ziad El Chaar, chief executive officer of Dar Global. “Wherever that global citizen wants to live, invest or build wealth, we will be there.”

That ambition explains the company’s rapid expansion across multiple markets in just a few years. Dar Global has moved quickly to establish projects in cities that attract international buyers, building a portfolio of developments aimed at investors who increasingly view property as part of a global lifestyle.

A pivotal moment in that strategy came in 2023 when the company listed on the London Stock Exchange. The move transformed Dar Global from a developer backed by Saudi Arabia’s Dar Al Arkan into a global company operating under public market scrutiny. For El Chaar, the listing was about credibility as much as capital.

Ziad El Chaar, CEO, Dar Global

“Securing a listing on a major global exchange fundamentally changes how the market perceives you,” he explains. “You are no longer viewed simply as a well capitalised developer. You are recognised as a structured institution with governance, transparency and a defined business plan.”

That reputation matters when entering new markets. Real estate development relies heavily on local partnerships, and landowners rarely collaborate with unfamiliar developers without extensive due diligence.

“You cannot arrive in a country and expect to become a serious developer overnight,” El Chaar says. “Partners will look closely at governance, reporting and structure. Being listed means our financials are public and our governance is transparent. It accelerates trust.”

Behind Dar Global sits the experience of Dar Al Arkan, one of Saudi Arabia’s largest developers, which spent three decades delivering major master planned communities across the kingdom. Those projects required not only buildings but entire urban ecosystems, including infrastructure and utilities. That background has shaped Dar Global’s approach to international development, giving the company the operational capacity to deliver projects at scale rather than focusing solely on individual towers.

The company has also become known for its collaborations with globally recognised luxury brands, including Pagani, Lamborghini and Missoni. These collaborations fuse architecture, interior design and brand identity into residential products designed to stand out in an increasingly crowded luxury market.

Co branded real estate has become a defining trend in the high end property sector, but El Chaar insists the economics must remain grounded.

“We exist to serve the global citizen. Wherever that global citizen wants to live, invest or build wealth, we will be there.”
 Ziad El Chaar, CEO, Dar Global

“A branded residence typically commands a premium, but it must be rational,” he says. “We believe that premium should not exceed around thirty percent over a comparable non branded project in the same location.”

Part of that premium reflects higher design specifications and materials. Another portion reflects brand licensing and marketing. Beyond that threshold, buyers risk paying for prestige rather than genuine value. Still, El Chaar acknowledges the emotional appeal of brand partnerships. Luxury property, after all, is never purely a financial asset.

As he puts it with characteristic candour, branded developments offer “a higher return on investment and a higher return on ego.”

Building luxury homes in the world’s most sought-after global destinations

Behind the branding sits a disciplined financial model that allows Dar Global to expand quickly across multiple markets. Rather than accumulating large land banks, the company frequently structures projects through partnerships with landowners, sharing profits rather than carrying heavy land financing costs on its balance sheet. The structure reduces capital intensity while enabling rapid growth.

“In five years we have reached a gross development value of twenty three billion dollars,” El Chaar says. “That growth was enabled by this asset light structure.”

For Dar Global, the ambition extends beyond any single project or geography. The company is positioning itself as a developer built for a new generation of globally mobile buyers whose lives increasingly span several cities and continents.

“We exist to serve the global citizen,” El Chaar says. “Wherever they want to live, invest or build wealth, we will be there.”