Over the last three years, OBG has advised on the investment and risk profiles of projects with a total development value of $200bn. The Consulting Division has conducted complex sensitivity analysis on inputs such as construction costs, occupancies, sales and leasing rates, yields, capitalisation rates, operating costs and interest rates and advised on projects based on NPV and IRR probabilities. Over the past three years, investment and risk profiling work has taken our Consulting team to Jordan, Dubai, Doha, Jeddah, Riyadh, Cairo, Algiers, Tunis, Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore and Colombo.
OBG maintains a database of real estate construction costs, sales prices for land and finished unit, and macroeconomic data, some of which stretches back almost 20 years. Research teams in our 32 regional offices carry out more than 100 interviews in each country every year. OBG’s consultancy teams work primarily on private client commissions and in the past year alone has researched real estate markets in the GCC, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia.
OBG Consulting has carried out real estate projects for local and international blue chips, including Solidere, Emaar, MAF, Dubai Holding, HSBC and others conducting market research, financial feasibility studies, investment and risk analysis across core real estate practice groups throughout the MENA region, which include:
- Residential
- Office
- Retail
- Hospitality
- Industrial
A separate arm of the Consultancy Division has built up a number of high profile public and private sector clients who require in-depth economic forecasts and strategies. At times working in concert with some of the world’s biggest consulting agencies, OBG has produced the original text for major government strategies, as well as designing the formats for the finished documents.
These commissions have included writing Economic Visions of 200+ pages covering planning for two decades ahead. Other requests for OBG services comprise factually checking and editing Policy Agendas, as well as designing to finished product status. OBG Economic and Sovereign Consultancy is currently in the process of researching and writing an Investors’ Guide for a major Middle East government department.
In the private sector, OBG was engaged to produce detailed economic briefings on 14 countries to be used as background material for the launch of a major investment fund. The division is able to call on the resources of the seasoned analysts who produce OBG’s economic and investment guides to more than 30 countries and territories throughout the world. For Economic and Sovereign Consultancy assignments, OBG puts together a bespoke team to meet the needs of the client.
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The Group’s feasibility department has assessed the financial viability of real estate projects on sites extending over 700 hectares. The OBG feasibility team specialises in large-scale mixed-use projects, and is known for its work on projects with complex combinations of uses. It has provided highest-and-best-use advice on greenfield sites and conducted market research-led appraisals on existing schemes in developing markets in the MENA region. The financial consulting team includes valuers and professionals who forecast potential costs and returns.
