Alvarez & Marsal (A&M), the global professional services firm known for its senior-led, operator-driven approach, has announced the expansion of its Real Estate, Travel, Hospitality & Leisure (RTHL) practice in the Middle East. The company has strengthened its capabilities as major destination and mixed-use developments across the region advance into delivery and operations.
A&M’s established presence in the Middle East spans over 20 years. The company has a regional headquarters in Riyadh and offices across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and the wider region.
A&M combines deep market knowledge, hands-on execution and conflict-free advice. The expanded RTHL team brings a track record ranging landmark developments, investment and transaction mandates, destination strategy and operational transformation serving clients across the Middle East and Africa.
The Middle East team forms part of A&M’s integrated RTHL EMEA platform, supporting clients across real estate, tourism and hospitality at the corporate, portfolio and asset levels. Its capabilities range the full lifecycle, from corporate and portfolio strategy, market assessment and business planning through investment, M&A deal advisory, development and transformation to portfolio performance and value realisation. The practice draws on A&M’s wider global RTHL capabilities including restructuring, technology, tax and debt advisory, and interim management.
“Our Middle East business has been built around senior leaders who understand the realities of operating at scale. They have helped shape and deliver many of the region’s landmark developments and transactions, bringing first-hand experience of the decisions, challenges and execution required to take major programs from ambition to delivery.
“Expanding our RTHL practice brings that experience together within one integrated platform, combining global capability with local delivery.”
Colie Spink, Middle East Regional Leader, A&M
The expansion reflects the continued scale of capital deployment into real estate, tourism and hospitality across the region, coupled with a growing emphasis on attracting private capital, improving the competitiveness of cities and destinations, and maximizing the economic value of major investments.
As programs move from planning into delivery and operations, the focus is increasingly on execution, capital efficiency, asset performance and sustainable returns. This next phase is creating greater demand for hands-on advisors who can work across the full lifecycle, supporting ambitious growth plans while also stepping in when assets, projects or businesses require operational improvement, transformation and accelerated delivery.
A&M research with Google underlines the scale of the opportunity, forecasting international travel spend of approximately $6trn by 2050, with the Middle East and Africa among the markets expected to see strong volume-led growth.
The Middle East RTHL practice is led by Yousef Wahbeh, Managing Director and Co-Head of RTHL for EMEA, who holds over 25 years of experience advising sovereign wealth funds, governments, developers and investors on major developments, transactions and investment programs across the Middle East and internationally.
“Clients across the region increasingly want seasoned industry practitioners turned advisors, with first-hand experience shaping, developing and delivering major projects. Our team brings deep industry and regional experience across the development lifecycle – from strategy, investment and transactions through to development, activation and operations.
“This combination of deep regional experience and A&M’s borderless global network gives clients access to the right expertise, lessons learned and leading practices from around the world, helping them unlock value and deliver at pace.”
Yousef Wahbeh, Managing Director and Co-Head of RTHL, EMEA
A&M’s Middle East RTHL practice includes the following senior team of Managing Directors and Senior Directors with extensive experience across regional development, investment and transformation programs. Their complementary backgrounds range from strategy and advisory, investment, development and operations.
Real estate and hospitality industry practitioner, Maya Whiteley specialises in taking assets from strategic concept into development and destination activation, including work on landmark projects across Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Saqib Saeed has joined from Dubai Holding, where he served as Managing Director across Dubai Holding Investments and Head of Commercial and Strategy at Dubai Holding Land Estates.
Real estate, tourism and destination development practitioner, Dalia Alderzi specilaises in extensive advisory, development and investment experience across KSA and the UAE. She is a former Big Four Partner and Meraas executive, and brings end-to-end expertise across the destination lifecycle, from strategy and planning through investment, joint ventures and implementation.
Rohit Dhawan advises sovereign wealth funds, governments and leading developers across the Middle East and Africa on corporate and portfolio strategy, investment planning and business planning across real estate, tourism and hospitality. He brings both strategic and industry perspectives to major organisations, destinations and investment programs.
Hospitality, real estate and investment practitioner Fabian Modenah holds over a decade of experience advising governments, sovereign wealth funds and large-scale projects across the GCC.
Together, the combined team brings complementary experience as investors, developers, operators and advisors, with first-hand involvement in some of the region’s most significant real estate, tourism and hospitality investments and developments. This breadth of experience strengthens A&M’s ability to address complex client priorities across the region.
