Leo M

Connecting global minds @ GRI Institute: where strategic thinking transforms our built environment.

[Leo M @LeoMac0]

A week in Mumbai, back to back with the people who move capital into Indian real estate.
My main takeaway: the market is ready. The thing every foreign investor still asks about is the rupee.
Reflections in the article below.

https://t.co/fredoYEn5E

[Leo M @LeoMac0]

The timeline on that shift is 18 months. Do you agree?

[Leo M @LeoMac0]

3,227 operational entities. 43% growth in twelve months. The Single Family Office licence running ahead of original projections. The migration to ADGM is no longer a trend worth monitoring: it is a structural fact worth positioning around.

[Leo M @LeoMac0]

Mubadala's January 2026 Property Finder round was structured through an ADGM vehicle. Five years ago, that same transaction would likely have run through Cayman. For managers raising vehicles aimed at Gulf LPs, ADGM domicile is moving from a preference to a prerequisite.

[Leo M @LeoMac0]

The entry formats, counterparties, holding structures, and exit timing differ across the two cities in ways that matter at the underwriting level.

Two cities. One region. Two completely different investment theses.

GRI Institute Gulf Cooperation Council

[Leo M @LeoMac0]

The Gulf is not one market. It is two capital strategies running in parallel, and they are not competing, they are doing entirely different things.

Abu Dhabi's playbook is built around sovereign depth. Four vehicles, US$1.7 tri in combined base, ADGM as the institutional spine.

[Leo M @LeoMac0]

Supply is shorter & more elastic than Abu Dhabi. Both markets are performing. The mistake is treating it as the same story. An institutional allocator building a Gulf strategy around Dubai's developer-retail dynamic will mis-read the Abu Dhabi opportunity, and vice versa.

[Leo M @LeoMac0]

but also evolving how that capital is structured. In that sense, investing through platforms shows the alignment with a way of thinking that is already well embedded in the region. GRI Institute Gulf Cooperation Council

[Leo M @LeoMac0]

In many of the conversations I’ve been part of recently, there’s a clear trend in how capital is choosing to enter new markets. Less direct, transactional exposure. More structured allocation through global platforms.

And there are good reasons for that.

[Leo M @LeoMac0]

At the same time, the GCC continues to stand out for its resilience and capacity to adapt. The pace of innovation across real estate, infrastructure and new asset classes reflects a market that is not only allocating capital globally,