WWA (pictured) and Ritchie Bros lead a crowded auction market
Al Nowais Group and Jones Lang LaSalle are launching JLL, a new entrant in the UAE auction arena.
Al Nowais which is one of the largest family businesses in the country has acquired the first Federal UAE license to carry out auctions in Abu Dhabi and across the region.
Jones Lang LaSalle is among the world’s leading real estate investment and advisory firms and the two companies have formed a 50/50 joint-venture called JLL Auctions, with the first auction slated to take place later this month.
The operation is headed by Patrick Ditcham, a 25-year international valuation and auctioneering veteran and will initially include construction, oil & gas and the automotive sectors. The JV has announced that it plans to extend the coverage to include property, manufacturing, military and defence, petrochemicals and the marine sector.
Both partners are confident that JLL Auctions will be the largest auction house in the region within five years and will make Abu Dhabi the centre for industrial plant and machinery disposal services in the Gulf.
“We identified the opportunity to create and develop a regionally based auctions business several years ago,” said Abdulla J Al Nowais, CEO of Al Nowais Group. “Market conditions are continually improving and the time is right to launch this new business. Jones Lang LaSalle has the international experience and regional reach to be able to do this with us.
“However we are not just looking to create a new auction facility in an existing market; this is about challenging the whole sales process in the industrial sector. Auctions offer a real alternative to more traditional methods of acquiring new plant such as buying it in new, or through official tender processes for stock being cleared and sold off by the Government or other large entities. These options can be expensive and time consuming.”
“This is not about fine art. This is about offering the region’s industrial sector access to the more cost effective auctions process, enabling companies to buy and sell plant and machinery on the open market,” remarked Patrick Ditcham, director of auctions and machinery valuations for Jones Lang LaSalle MENA. “JLL Auctions will provide a more comprehensive service offering a more direct, transparent and flexible option for both vendors and purchasers, giving them better returns than they currently get. We will create considerable efficiencies and cost savings for businesses that buy and sell plant as part of a broad variety of industrial processes”.
Most of the auction houses in the UAE are located on fixed site but the Federal UAE license obtained by Al Nowais Group allows it to carry out auctions in Abu Dhabi and across the country, “giving it the best auction license for a private auction business looking to operate in the region”.
The company also manages a diverse portfolio of business interests and consequently has an extensive network of commercial business and government contacts, which will assist in sourcing potential stock, as well as broad sector expertise.
Jones Lang LaSalle has over 150 years of international real estate and auction experience and will bring the very best international standards, transparency and ethics to the regional auction market. In the last 5 years it has undertaken over 1000 auctions globally, valued in excess of US$115 million in total sales. These sales have been carried out on behalf of the likes of KPMG, PWC, HSBC and Barclays amongst others. It also has regional scope, operating across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and has had offices in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
“We are tremendously excited about this partnership of these two outstanding firms,” commented David Dudley, Head of Jones Lang LaSalle Abu Dhabi. “Each has a reputation for excellence based on teamwork and putting clients first. Our new leadership team is already in place, consisting of senior directors from both firms, and their immediate focus will be to begin to realise the extraordinary potential of this JV for our clients and colleagues.”