Knight Frank appoints Buthainah Albaity as Head of Private Capital & Family Enterprises

Knight Frank has hired Buthainah Albaity from KPMG to lead its Private Capital and Family Enterprises practice across the MENA region.

The new partner and practice leader brings over 15 years of experience in real estate and property to the firm, gained in consulting, financial services and industry.

After starting her career at Riyadh-based Swicorp, where she worked on transactions and real estate financings, Albaity then spent nearly two years working on the delivery of the Knowledge Economic City Project – a program comprising four economic cities aimed at supporting the Kingdom’s drive towards economic diversity and job creation. Albaity worked on the Economic City Project for Madinah.

In 2025, Albaity joined KPMG, where she grew the ranks to Director and more recently served as the Lead of the Real Estate Advisory Services practice for the Western Region of Saudi Arabia. Her track record includes helping public and private sector clients with real estate strategy, financial transactions, financial due diligence during M&A, private placements, IPOs, investment strategy, feasibility studies, and portfolio optimization.

Now at Knight Frank, Albaity leads the Private Capital and Family Enterprises business, focusing on the delivery of real estate solutions to ultra high net-worth individuals (UHNWIs), family enterprises and their family offices.

“We are delighted to welcome Buthainah,” stated Knight Frank in a post on LinkedIn. “With nearly 18 years of experience in investment banking and consulting, she brings deep expertise across the full deal cycle, with a focus on the private real estate sector.”

Her arrival comes shortly after Knight Frank released a report on the UAE’s real estate transactions landscape, finding that the rapid rise in HNWIs and UHNWIs in the emirates is spurring unprecedented demand for high-value properties. Notably, the UAE has experienced a 98% increase in dollar millionaires over the past decade.