BrazilConsulting giants McKinsey & Company get new landlord in Abu Dhabi
Global management consulting giant McKinsey & Company is set for a new landlord in Abu Dhabi, with Aldar Properties picking up its International Tower locale.
Real estate development and management firm Aldar Properties has finalised the paperwork on its $179 million purchase of the International Tower building in Abu Dhabi’s Gate district, adding 39,000 square meters of premium commercial rental space to its existing portfolio.
The company expects the acquisition to immediately contribute to its net operating income, citing the property’s “strong mix of existing tenants and robust occupancy.” Among its current key tenants are the defence and aerospace agency BAE Systems and the engineering consultancy AECOM, along with global strategy and management consulting powerhouse McKinsey & Company.
Operating in the Middle East since 1957, McKinsey has over 400 regional consultants across its offices in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Egypt and the UAE, the latter including locales in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
The company says of its Abu Dhabi and the UAE enterprise: “Abu Dhabi is in the midst of rapid growth and transformation. McKinsey is proud to be working with the Emirate’s leadership and key decision-makers on critical elements of its Economic Vision 2030 – shaping bold new investment strategies, accelerating the growth of key sectors such as energy and infrastructure, and strengthening education and health care.”
Local operations
McKinsey’s Abu Dhabi office is guided by company senior partners, Ibrahim El-Husseini, Enrico Benni and Nicklas Garemo – with Garemo also serving as regional leader of the firm’s Operations Practice. The partners between them have over 75 years of senior consulting experience, with; El- Husseini joining McKinsey in 2012 fresh from a 17-year stint with Booz & Company in Beirut; Benni being recruited in 2000 following five years at PwC after stating out at Accenture in 1992, and; Garemo crossing to McKinsey in 1996 after getting his break with Arthur D. Little two years earlier.
Together the partners serve their clients in a range of areas, including El-Husseieni in the provision of operational and strategic advice to the energy and resources sector, Benni on business-technology issues such as sourcing, customer relationship management and global integration of IT systems, and Garemo in the field of infrastructure and engineering with a specialty in performance improvement for engineering and construction organisations, along with, as it were, real estate development firms.
Regionally, McKinsey has completed over 2000 projects in the Middle East since 2010, and recently expanded its local footprint with the acquisition of Saudi Arabian consultancy Elixir. The company has also been brought in by the government of Lebanon to assist in the country’s economic restructuring project.
Meanwhile in other local property news, global real estate consulting firm CBRE has been appointed the leasing and retail lead for Abu Dhabi’s new high-concept ‘Medical Mall’ project by Al Falah Holdings.
