Ashraf Sayed

Ashraf is Head of UAE Real Estate. He leads the team that has been constantly ranked as a tier 1 UAE Real Estate Practice by leading legal publications. Having been in the UAE for over 20 years, Ashraf is widely recognized in the industry and legal directories as a market leader advising on complex real estate, development, and hospitality matters.

Ashraf advises on a range of real estate matters, including real estate development, commercial leasing, hospitality, and branded residences. He advises on contentious as well as transactional matters including sale and purchase of high value real estate, joint ventures, property management arrangements, real estate finance, property litigation, master communities, corporate structuring and all aspects of real estate development from project initiation and site acquisition, to post-project completion and management. Ashraf represents a variety of clients including government entities, hotel operators, master developers, UHNW and HNW Individuals and financial institutions.

Prior to joining Hadef & Partners, Ashraf worked for a leading international law firm in London. He completed his LLB at Brunel University and the Legal Practice Course at the College of Law, in the UK, before qualifying as an English Solicitor. Ashraf is fluent in English, Hindi and Urdu.

Admissions

• Solicitor, England & Wales

• Advising Reeva Realty, part of RSG Group of Companies on their flagship mixed-use hotel and branded residences development project in Dubai under the brand name ‘Fairmont’.
• Acting for Aqua Real Estate Development, a leading UAE real estate developer, for all of its real estate projects in the UAE. Aqua has developed over 6,000,000 sqft of GLA and 10,000 commercial, residential, retail and hotel units in the UAE.
• Acting for Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), an Abu Dhabi government entity with one of the largest land banks in Abu Dhabi on a range of corporate and real estate matters.
• Advising Bulldozer Group, a leading hospitality group specializing in bringing internationally renowned luxury restaurant brands to Dubai on commercial leasing matters.
• Acting for Discovery Land Company, one of the world’s leading luxury golf real estate developers for its first project in the Middle East – an ultra luxury villa development with a world-class 18-hole golf course and related amenities.
• Advising Discovery on all aspects of the project including:
  • Acquisition of nearly 26,000,0000 square feet land in Dubai South from Dubai Aviation City Corporation, a Dubai government entity for the project.
  • Structuring and incorporating corporate entities in the UAE for the project.
  • Advising on a joint venture with a leading MENA real estate developer
  • Advising on the suite of golf membership documentation.
• Advising a UHNWI on the most expensive single villa sale and purchase transaction in the UAE at a value of AED 600million. 
• Acting for EMICOOL, a semi Dubai government entity and one of the largest district cooling service providers in the Middle East on real estate reorganization for its assets located in non-freehold areas of the UAE.
• Acting for Centurion Group, a leading Dubai based developer in a series of joint venture developments with Ellington Properties, also a leading Dubai based developer for the development of various Ellington branded residential projects across Dubai. Including Palm Jumeirah and Business Bay. The combined sellable area for the developments exceeded 2,000,000 sqft and 4,000 commercial, residential, and retail units in the UAE.
• Acting for ABA Real Estate Development LLC (ABA), a leading UAE real estate developer on the development of a mixed use project in Dubai Marina branded by Kempinski Hotels.
• Acting regularly for Gulf Islamic Investments, a leading Shariah compliant investment group in the Middle East with a diversified investment portfolio; on a range of real estate matters including:
  • sale of a logistics facility in Dubai to a leading Bahrain based asset management firm
  • acquisition of multiple warehouse and logistics facilities on Islamic compliant sale and leaseback structures 
• Acting for AUH Properties, the owner of a hotel and serviced apartments located in DIFC and operated by Marriott Group under the Ritz Carlton brand with the sub-division, title restructuring, and refurbishment of the serviced apartments into luxury residences branded by the Marriott Group.
• Advising Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC), a public joint stock company operating five commercial airports in Abu Dhabi on their entire suite of template documentation for leasing, licensing and Musataha arrangements.