Today's Edition
A. SREENIVASA REDDY (ABU DHABI)
Harrison Street, a leading global investment management firm specialising in alternative real assets, has formally expanded into the Middle East with the launch of a new office at the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).
The firm has secured a Financial Services Permission (FSP) from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of ADGM, enabling it to provide regulated services from its Abu Dhabi base. Headquartered in Chicago and London, Harrison Street also maintains offices across North America, Europe and Asia.
“This strategic initiative aims to bolster Harrison Street’s ability to advise and collaborate with investors in the Middle East,” the company said in a statement. “This comes at a time when regional investors increasingly seek economic diversification and a broader range of international investment opportunities, including global real assets exposure.”
The new office will be led by Hadi Nasser, who joined Harrison Street in March 2024 as Managing Director and Head of Investor Relations – Middle East. Nasser, who has nearly two decades of experience in capital raising and advisory roles across Europe and the Middle East, previously held roles at Rockpoint and EnTrust Global. He will be responsible for developing and maintaining Harrison Street’s institutional relationships across the Gulf region.
“We are excited to now formalise our presence in the Middle East, and specifically within ADGM, an increasingly important hub for the global investment management industry,” said Christopher Merrill, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of Harrison Street. “This strategic expansion aligns with the Middle East’s advanced investment landscape and its appetite for diversified, alternative sectors.”
Arvind Ramamurthy, Chief Market Development Officer of ADGM, welcomed the development: “Harrison Street brings valuable expertise and innovation to our thriving financial centre. Their presence further strengthens ADGM’s position as a leading hub for asset and wealth management.”
Founded in 2005, Harrison Street has invested over $71 billion across key sectors including senior housing, student housing, build-to-rent, healthcare delivery, life sciences, storage real estate, and digital infrastructure. The firm’s strategy is supported by long-standing partnerships with more than 60 operating partners, 200 universities, and 30 top health systems.
In his 2024 annual letter to investors, Merrill described the past year as a “year of transition,” highlighting the firm’s repositioning in response to macroeconomic volatility. During 2024, Harrison Street committed $5 billion to new investments and sold $4 billion worth of assets across 81 properties, including off-market transactions in student and senior housing, data centres, and medical offices. He also emphasised the firm’s increasing adoption of AI and data analytics in its investment approach, and maintained a strong long-term outlook for alternative real assets.
Harrison Street’s new office, located at Al Sila Tower in ADGM, will serve as a regional base to guide institutional clients through a period marked by repricing and a recovering flow of capital into global real estate and infrastructure markets.
