LondonMetric to buy UK's Urban Logistics REIT in a $925mln deal
British landlord LondonMetric on Friday agreed to buy property investment firm Urban Logistics REIT in a deal, valuing the company at 698.9 million pounds ($924.99 million). ($1 = 0.7556 pounds) (Reporting by Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)
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The National
2 days ago
- The National
TV art guru jailed for 2.5 years for deals with suspected Hezbollah financier
An art expert who appeared on a BBC auction show was jailed for two-and-a-half years on Friday after a series of deals with a suspected Hezbollah financier. Oghenochuko Ojiri, 53, also known as Ochuko, sold artwork worth around £140,000 to Nazem Ahmad, a man designated by US authorities for alleged laundering for the Lebanese group. A regular on the Bargain Hunt programme, Ojiri was arrested two years ago by officers from the UK's National Terrorist Financial Investigation Unit. The investigation centred on alleged terrorist financing and money laundering by Mr Ahmad, an art collector and diamond dealer. Mr Ahmad, 60, a dual Belgian- Lebanese citizen, is under sanction s by Britain and the US. He has been accused of using the UK's fine art market to run an international financing operation for Hezbollah which is proscribed in the UK as a terrorist organisation. The art dealer's connection to the investigation into Mr Ahmad was first revealed by The National on Thursday, when he was charged. Ojiri is known for his appearances on the BBC's Bargain Hunt and has also appeared on the BBC's Antiques Road Trip. Ojiri had admitted to eight charges of failing to disclose his dealings with Mr Ahmad, which took place between October 2020 and December 2021, contrary to the Terrorism Act 2000. Prosecutor Lyndon Harris told the court hearing in May that Ojiri 'engaged in sales of artwork to Nazem Ahmad, a suspected terrorist financier'. Following the introduction of new money laundering regulations in January 2020 that brought the art market under the supervision of UK Customs, Ojiri is said to have discussed the changes with a colleague, indicating awareness of the rules, he told the court. 'At the time of the transactions, Ojiri knew Mr Ahmad had been sanctioned in the US,' Mr Harris said. 'He accessed news reports about Mr Ahmad and engaged in conversations with others about that, which indicates that he had information about Mr Ahmad.' Mr Ahmad was first accused by the US Treasury in 2019 of laundering substantial amounts of money and being involved in the smuggling of 'blood diamonds' for Hezbollah. He was sanctioned, then in April 2024 charged by the US along with eight associates with offences relating to breaching sanctions regulations. Police swooped on the high-security depot near London's Heathrow Airport in 2024, taking away nearly two dozen works of art belonging to Mr Ahmad, which they believe would probably have funded Hezbollah.
Khaleej Times
2 days ago
- Khaleej Times
UAE: How to own a stake in property for as little as Dh500
Buying property in some parts of the UAE has become out of reach for many people, but there are solutions. One option is to buy a portion of the space instead of the whole thing. This is known as fractional ownership and thanks to technology, it has become cheaper and more transparent. Companies like Stake and SmartCrowd offer investors the chance to buy small stakes in properties from around Dh500. For example, Stake currently has six properties available to invest in, including a one-bedroom apartment in Downtown Dubai, with a projected net yield/income of 5.1 per cent. Recently, we saw the launch of a new type of fractional property ownership called real estate tokenisation. When you buy a portion of a property, it's recorded on the blockchain, and you get a digital token to prove ownership. The platform is called Prypco Mint and it's a collaboration between property company Prypco and the Dubai Land Department (DLD). Matt Blom, co-founder at Tokinvest, said: 'Fractional ownership opens the doors of real estate investing to a broader, more diverse pool of investors. Traditionally, property investment required significant capital and often came with geographic or legal barriers. But with fractional models, especially those powered by blockchain and tokenisation, investors can access high-quality, income-generating assets at a fraction of the cost.' Prypco Mint's first listed property — a two-bedroom apartment in Damac Prive Tower in Dubai's Business Bay — was fully funded within a day. It attracted more than 200 investors from over 40 nationalities, with an average investment of Dh10,714. Following the platform's strong debut, multiple developers have shown interest in listing their properties. The platform currently has a waiting list of more than 6,000. How it works Through the Prypco Mint platform, investors can buy small shares, or fractions, of premium Dubai properties, with a minimum investment of Dh2,000. These shares, which are in the form of digital tokens, can earn returns through both rental income and rising property values. At the moment, the scheme is only open to UAE residents with an Emirates ID, but there are plans to open it up to international investors in the future. All transactions are done in UAE dirhams and no cryptocurrency is involved during this trial phase. Investors will get full access to detailed information about the properties, including pricing, risks, and minimum investment amounts. Toby Young, a Dubai-based digital assets strategist, said: 'The scheme is aimed at anyone and everyone assuming they meet the minimum investment criteria. The idea behind fractionalising real estate is to democratise ownership and make assets available to everyone, not just the select few.' Raising the Stakes The DLD/Prypco pilot scheme is along the same lines as that of Stake, a private company that was set up in 2021 and which has been at the forefront of fractional property ownership. It allows people to invest as little as Dh500 to own a fraction of a property. It has already funded more than 400 properties worth more than Dh1 billion in transactions. Rami Tabbara, co-founder and co-CEO at Stake, said that fractional ownership can often be a difficult concept to explain to people. 'It's a new concept for many. People naturally associate real estate with full ownership, large sums of money, and mountains of paperwork. But when we explain it as buying shares in a property, just like you'd buy shares in a company, it starts to make sense.' On Stake's app, there are only six properties currently available to invest in. Why such a low number? 'We prioritise quality over quantity. Every property goes through a strict underwriting process, and only the best listings and the best yielding opportunities make it to Stake,' Tabbara explained. Returns Stake's yearly investment returns average around 10 per cent, but this drops to a projected net yield (after costs have been taken into account) of around 5 per cent a year. Stake said it has been in active discussions with both the DLD and Dubai's digital assets regulator VARA to align its platform with the new regulatory framework around tokenised real estate. Tabbara expects his company to participate in the second phase of the pilot programme, which is scheduled to go live in the second half of this year. DLD said $16 billion (Dh58.7 billion) worth of real estate could be digitised by 2033. What about the DLD/Prypco pilot project's returns? The first property offered was sold at a discount to attract buyers, which equates to a higher yield. Returns on future properties will depend on the selling price, usage of the property, and whether it is a short- or long-term rental. 'That said, typical net yields are between 6-8 per cent after the aforementioned has been taken into account. I would expect similar new returns, with a few outliers above and below that range,' Young added. Investors also need to bear in mind that there may be a lock-up period for their investment. Innovation Dubai is making a name for itself as a leading crypto and blockchain hub, along with being a pioneer of real-world asset (RWA) tokenisation of property. The Prypco and DLD property platform means that a young professional in Dubai can invest in a prime villa or luxury apartment without the complexity or cost of full ownership. 'This isn't just innovation for innovation's sake. It's a structural shift in how wealth can be built and shared,' added Tokinvest's Blom. 'Fractional investment creates liquidity, flexibility, and access, which have been barriers in traditional real estate investing. With lower entry points, more people can participate, which in turn leads to (hopefully) increased capital flow into the sector.' The launch of the government-backed real estate tokenisation project and the success of platforms like Stake show the huge demand for this type of innovative property ownership. But as more properties are bought up by companies for fractional ownership, it could lead to higher prices in the property market. 'It's a valid concern, and one we take seriously. When more capital flows into real estate, demand can increase, which could potentially put upward pressure on prices. But it's important to look at the bigger picture,' said Blom. 'The goal isn't to inflate markets, it's to broaden access and enable more efficient use of property assets. If managed responsibly, tokenisation and fractional investing can help smooth the peaks and valleys of global real estate, not exacerbate them.' Vanessa Bayma, the founder of CBC Consultancy and Events, has invested in two fractional properties using Stake. Currently, she is getting a 6 per cent return with rental income. 'We were interested in crypto investing but found it volatile. And didn't have enough money to own properties outright,' she explained. She is interested in making more fractional property investments. 'Sometimes people are bedazzled by short-term investments such as crypto or volatile stocks. My father always said that real estate is the safest investment. Granted, we can't afford to buy full properties, but this style of investment allows us to diversify.'
Martechvibe
2 days ago
- Martechvibe
Fullcast Acquires Commissionly
As part of the acquisition, Commissionly's product and team will be integrated into the Fullcast suite of solutions, with continued investment in both platforms. Topics News Share Share Fullcast Acquires Commissionly Whatsapp Linkedin Fullcast, the RevOps platform for end-to-end Go-to-Market (GTM) planning and execution, has announced the acquisition of Commissionly, a UK-based company specialising in cloud-based sales commission management. This acquisition marks a step forward in Fullcast's mission to unify every aspect of GTM operations, transforming it from a RevOps solution into a sales performance management platform. By incorporating Commissionly's automated commission tracking and compensation tools into Fullcast's RevOps platform, customers can align sales performance and incentive structures with territory planning, quota setting, and Go-to-Market execution. This integration helps remove operational silos that typically result in misaligned incentives, payment delays, and shadow accounting. 'Adding Commissionly's powerful commission engine makes Fullcast the only platform where GTM planning and sales performance execution truly live in one place,' said Ryan Westwood, CEO, Fullcast. 'This acquisition enables our customers to motivate, reward and drive performance with complete visibility and trust.' Commissionly has helped sales teams automate complex commission structures across industries. Its simple and intelligent cloud-based solutions are part of Fullcast's commitment to flexibility and scalability across growing Go-to-Market teams. 'Joining Fullcast is a natural evolution of our mission to help sales teams succeed through transparency and automation,' said Martin Baker, CEO, Commissionly. 'Together, we can offer companies a seamless experience, from designing territories and setting quotas to managing commissions and rewarding top performers.' As part of the acquisition, Commissionly's product and team will be integrated into the Fullcast suite of solutions, with continued investment in both platforms. Existing Commissionly customers will continue to receive full support and benefit from enhanced capabilities through the combined solution. 'We're thrilled to bring Commissionly into Fullcast. This will make it easier for teams to connect planning with performance and actually get paid for the work they do, faster and more accurately,' said Bala Balabaskaran, Co-Founder and CTO of Fullcast. ALSO READ:
