Crowd investment platform Stake launches in UAE

Digital crowd investment platform Stake, facilitating a simple, affordable way for users to invest in income generating properties, has been launched in DIFC’s FinTech Hive.

Regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), Stake is a social-investment platform, offering users an opportunity to buy stakes in pre-vetted residential properties, starting from as low as Dhs2,000. Each investor is then issued shares in a DIFC company proportional to their ownership in the property and receives their share of rental income in the form of quarterly dividend distributions.

Stake’s assets focus on prime locations where the rental demand is high and the long-term fundamentals will drive capital appreciation.

Rami Tabbara, co-founder at Stake, and former senior vice president of sales at DAMAC, said: “The UAE real estate market is ripe for change. The current model of real estate investment is no longer fit for purpose. It’s either exclusionary for the young or it falls short in delivering attractive returns.

“As an experienced investor in prime real estate focused on delivering sustainable and reliable yields, and backed by robust investment processes, technology and expertise, Stake is providing investors with a credible, trusted and simple alternative. Our solution will deliver on its commitments and provide inclusive investment options to suit all types of investors.”

“We are extremely selective with the investments we choose to present on our platform, and only offer prime assets which have the potential to deliver attractive returns on both rental yields and eventual capital appreciation,” noted Manar Mahmassani, co-founder at Stake, and ex-managing director at Falcon Group and vice president at Deutsche Bank.

“We also manage the whole process end to end, from acquisition, company incorporation, dividends and exit. Investors just sit back and collect their income and watch their portfolio grow. It’s a win-win situation.”

Recent Q3 figures from the Dubai Land Department suggested that more than 2,297 apartments and 438 villas were transacted during Q3 2020 in the emirate’s residential market, marking a 24 per cent increase in the overall number of units sold quarter-on-quarter.