RISMEDIA, Feb. 14, 2007-Sotheby's International Realty Affiliates, Inc. announced the signing of master franchise rights that will expand the Sotheby's International Realty® network into the countries of Qatar, Morocco, Egypt and Oman. The rights have been acquired by Qatar Real Estate Partners, which is a joint venture partnership formed between Qatari Diar, a regional leader in real estate development, and NorthCourse Leisure Real Estate Solutions, a global vacation and leisure real estate company.
"Qatari Diar and NorthCourse are each experts in their respective fields, and their combined strengths will help us expand our prestigious Sotheby's International Realty network in these countries," said Michael R. Good, president & CEO of Sotheby's International Realty Affiliates, Inc. "We look forward to working with Qatar Real Estate Partners to open new offices and help make our brand emerge as a dominant luxury real estate leader in these growing real estate marketplaces."
"Qatar Real Estate Partners will allow Qatari Diar to focus on our core strength of developing sustainable communities," commented Nasser H. Al Ansari, the CEO of Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment & Development Company. "We are confident that the combined capabilities of Qatari Diar, NorthCourse and the international strengths of the Sotheby's International Realty network will be a world-class winning combination and expand our window to the world."
Preben Vestdam, the president and CEO of NorthCourse said, "We are excited about the opportunity of partnering with Qatari Diar to help build the sales brokerage and distribution services for their $20 billion real estate development pipeline. NorthCourse plans on making Qatar Real Estate Partners one of the most respected real estate brokerage companies in the region."
Qatar Real Estate Partners will be headquartered in Doha, Qatar, and will initially open Sotheby's International Realty® offices in the central region of this city as well as the Moroccan city of Casablanca. Future plans include expanding into the Egyptian capital of Cairo as well as Muscat, which serves as the capital of Oman.
Qatar Real Estate Partners will focus on the distribution of Qatari Diar's extensive portfolio of luxury real estate projects and will also offer their brokerage services to other developers and property owners across the region. NorthCourse will oversee the development and ongoing management of Qatar Real Estate Partners as well as provide leisure real estate consulting services to the partnership.
Once the firm opens its Sotheby's International Realty offices, all of its listings will be marketed on the www.sothebysrealty.com global Web site, which currently posts luxury home listings from countries around the world. The firm will have access to unique networking and referral programs with Sotheby's International Realty® brokers located in more than 350 worldwide offices, as well as other marketing products designed to help bring more value to current and prospective clientele.
For more information, visit www.sothebysrealty.com.
