The real estate sector presents immense opportunities. In Africa, the industry is fuelled by rapid urbanisation, a burgeoning middle class, population growth, and demand for residential, commercial, retail, mixed-use, and hospitality developments.

Yet persistent challenges, such as inadequate land documentation, limited digitisation of registries, title disputes, regulatory complexities, financing constraints, and the need for sustainable practices, require expert navigation to unlock value and mitigate risks.

Our team provides comprehensive legal and business expertise in the Real Estate sector across Africa and the UAE, specialising in structuring secure transactions, advising on large-scale developments, ensuring regulatory compliance, and managing conveyancing, financing, and disputes to deliver bankable, future-proof projects.

We support developers, investors, funds, governments, and occupiers from land acquisition through construction, leasing, operation, and exit, offering coordinated pan-African solutions that address local nuances while aligning with international standards.

Our Real Estate Expertise

The real estate market across continetns continues to expand, with notable trends, including the digitisation of land registries, sustainable and green building practices, mixed-use developments, affordable housing initiatives, and growing interest in hospitality and logistics assets. As ALN, we deliver integrated legal and commercial advice across Africa and the UAE to a diverse client base, including:

  • Real Estate Developers and Operators
  • Private Equity and Real Estate Investment Funds
  • Institutional Investors and Sovereign Wealth Funds
  • International and Local Corporations (for owner-occupied or leased premises)
  • Governments and State-Owned Entities
  • Banks and Financiers
  • Construction Companies and Contractors

Our strong local knowledge, combined with pan-African coordination, enables clients to execute complex projects efficiently, secure clear title, structure resilient financing, and resolve issues decisively.

How We Help in Real Estate (Representative Scope)

Our seamless services cover the whole real estate lifecycle, providing tailored support for your developments and investments in Africa and the UAE:

  • Land Acquisition & Title Due Diligence: Assisting in attaining land ownership and rights, including researching, verifying ownership, obtaining land control board consent, signing sale agreements, and registering transfer documents. 
  • Development & Construction: Drafting and negotiating construction contracts (EPC, FIDIC-based), development agreements, joint ventures, and ancillary infrastructure deals, including permits and approvals.
  • Financing & Investment Structuring: Structuring equity, debt, mezzanine finance, and security packages (mortgages, charges over property), with expertise in cross-border lending and currency risk mitigation.
  • Conveyancing & Transactions: Handling sales, purchases, leases (commercial, residential, industrial), sub-divisions, sectional titles, and transfers, ensuring compliance with local land laws.
  • Regulatory & Zoning Compliance: Advising on planning permissions, environmental impact assessments, building regulations, foreign investment approvals, and local content or indigenisation requirements.
  • Leasing & Property Management: Drafting leases, service charge regimes, facility management agreements, and operation & maintenance contracts for retail, office, hospitality, and mixed-use schemes.
  • ESG & Sustainability: Guiding green building certifications, climate-resilient design, community engagement, and ESG reporting to attract premium financing and meet investor expectations.
  • Dispute Resolution: Representing clients in property litigation, arbitration, and mediation related to title defects, construction claims, landlord-tenant disputes, or regulatory enforcement.

Why Clients Choose ALN

  • Pan-African Reach: Coordinated on-the-ground execution across Africa’s urban growth centres, blending deep local expertise with international transaction standards.
  • Regulatory Fluency: Proven track record in navigating land law reforms, digitisation initiatives, and zoning complexities to secure clear rights and pre-empt challenges.
  • Integrated Teams: Specialists in Real Estate & Construction, Finance, Regulatory, Tax, and Dispute Resolution collaborate seamlessly to deliver end-to-end project support.
  • Cross-border Delivery: Aligning African property nuances with global investor requirements, financing norms, and sustainability standards for robust, marketable assets.

Representative transactions include advising:

  1. Gateway Delta Development Holdings

    A Mauritian private real estate development company, in connection with its acquisition of Metroplex Shopping Mall, one of the largest shopping malls in Uganda.

  2. AVIC International Real Estate Kenya

    A subsidiary of Aviation Industry Corporation of China, a Chinese state-owned aerospace and defence company, in connection with its development of a mixed-use state-of-the-art development comprising of one of tallest office blocks in Kenya, a modern retail and commercial centre, a five star hotel and four residential apartment blocks consisting of an aggregate of 504 high end apartment.

  3. Zambia’s largest property development company

    In connection with the USD 25 million leveraged acquisition by merger of another property owning Zambian listed company.

  1. EH Venture Capital Rwanda

    In connection with the development of a financial centre in Kigali Rwanda.

  2. Africa50

    An infrastructure investment platform that contributes to Africa’s growth by developing and investing in bankable projects, in connection with the legal framework for a proposed transaction involving the development, construction and financing of the Kigali Innovation City infrastructure project.

  3. Grit Real Estate Income Group

    A Mauritian company that was the first to listed on the London Stock Exchange, in connection with its listing on the Official List of LSE.

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