News DeskDubai: Gaw Capital Partners and GFH Partners have formed a joint venture to establish a UAE-focused industrial and logistics development platform, targeting high-quality projects across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah.
Under the partnership, Gaw Capital will hold a majority stake in the joint-venture company, which is designed to act as a gateway for Asian capital to be deployed at scale into the UAE’s rapidly expanding real estate market. The platform will focus on industrial development projects anchored by pre-identified seed assets located in key and fast-growing industrial zones across the Emirates.
Development activity will be led by Manrre Developments, a joint venture between GFH and Palmon Group, a UAE-based industrial conglomerate with more than four decades of experience. The partnership brings together regional capabilities in acquisition, planning, design, development and execution, with the aim of delivering modern, future-ready warehouses and logistics centres.
Harry Ip, Managing Director of Gaw Capital, said the firm was entering the UAE market at a time of strong fundamentals. “The surge in structural demand driven by government-led initiatives and heightened global interest in the logistics and industrial asset class make this a compelling opportunity. Partnering with GFH positions us to deliver prime industrial facilities in a market that remains fundamentally undersupplied,” he said.
Nael Mustafa, CEO of GFH Partners, said the joint venture would allow the firm to scale its regional expertise. “We bring on-the-ground specialists, experienced local operators and a strong track record managing logistics and industrial assets across the GCC. By combining regional insight with Gaw Capital’s global capability, we aim to unlock new opportunities in the UAE’s expanding industrial and logistics sector,” he said.
The platform is being launched against a backdrop of strong macroeconomic momentum in the UAE, supported by long-term strategies such as the Dubai Industrial Strategy 2030 and the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan. These initiatives are focused on industrial diversification, foreign direct investment and logistics infrastructure expansion. The UAE’s pro-business environment — including tax and customs exemptions, simplified regulations across more than 40 free zones and relaxed foreign ownership rules — continues to support rising logistics demand.
Market fundamentals remain robust, with Dubai’s warehouse and logistics occupancy exceeding 97 per cent and rental rates up 33 per cent year-on-year, reflecting a persistent supply-demand imbalance. Population growth, supported by long-term residency programmes such as the Golden Visa and an attractive tax regime, is also underpinning demand.
The new platform marks Gaw Capital’s first logistics-sector footprint in the UAE. Globally, the firm has established a sizeable logistics presence across China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and Australia, with 39 projects totalling around 3.8 million square metres of gross floor area. As of the third quarter of 2025, Gaw Capital manages more than $3.4 billion in logistics assets worldwide.
Since 2014, the firm has acquired, developed and managed over 3 million square metres of modern logistics facilities in China alone, and has expanded across Asia-Pacific through strategic partnerships in key metropolitan markets including Tokyo, Seoul, Vietnam and Sydney.
