Dubai-Based EIGHTClouds Launches US$300 Million Real Estate Investment Fund

Dubai-based alternative investment firm EIGHTClouds has launched the EIGHTClouds Real Estate Investment Fund, an open-ended vehicle focused on generating income and long-term capital appreciation through a diversified portfolio of residential assets across the UAE. 

Founded by Mark Aitchison in the UAE in 2022, EIGHTClouds is a boutique private equity-focused alternative investment firm that builds, acquires, and scales brands across beauty and wellness, food and beverage, and technology, providing founders with capital, operational expertise, and strategic support to expand locally and internationally. 

The EIGHTClouds Real Estate Investment Fund shall target more than US$300 million in committed capital and over $600 million in gross asset value over its first decade. Its strategy centers on acquiring income-generating residential assets in established, liquid communities with sustained tenant demand. 

In an interview with Inc. Arabia, Oliver Wall, Head of Investment at EIGHTClouds, explained that the new fund was designed to address a structural gap in the residential investment landscape. “Dubai’s residential market is deep and liquid, but it remains fragmented from an institutional standpoint," he said. "Most capital either buys single units directly or allocates to large-scale developers. There is limited access to a professionally managed, income-led, diversified residential vehicle at a structured entry point. We designed the fund to institutionalize residential exposure. Our operating experience across portfolio companies shaped this. We built governance frameworks, cash flow discipline, and asset-level underwriting processes that prioritize occupancy, leasing velocity, and yield durability over speculation. The result is a portfolio built around stabilized, income-ready assets, mark-to-market valuation and 100 percent quarterly distribution of free cash flow. Income discipline sits at the center of the strategy." 

The new fund focuses exclusively on the residential segment, combining long-term rental assets in established, high-demand communities targeting yields of nine percent or more, with premium short-term units targeting yields above 18 percent. The portfolio is expected to comprise around 1,000 units diversified across more than 15 demand corridors, with value creation driven by active asset management, financial structuring, and asset optimization. The fund has a minimum investment requirement of $50,000, which Wall said allows the investor base to expand while remaining aligned with qualified investor regulations.

“Our initial base is a mix of high-net-worth individuals, regional family offices, and sophisticated private investors across the GCC and UK," Wall added. "We also see increasing institutional engagement as the portfolio scales. As the fund grows toward its $300 million commitment target, we expect the investor base to tilt progressively toward larger allocators seeking structured residential income exposure in Dubai. The structure is designed to scale. Governance, valuation transparency and liquidity mechanics are built with institutional participation in mind from day one.” 

Beyond investor composition, Wall said risk considerations have been embedded into the investment approach from the outset, starting with decisions around asset location. “Risk management begins with corridor selection," he explained. "We focus on Dubai’s strongest demand clusters, where rental absorption, infrastructure investment, and tenant depth intersect. Fiscal year 2024/2025 residential transaction volumes reached approximately $149 billion, reinforcing liquidity across core districts.”

Wall highlighted that this framework extends into how the portfolio itself is constructed. “Diversification operates across three layers: first, geography," he explained. "Exposure spans more than 15 high-demand communities to mitigate concentration risk. Second, rental segmentation. The portfolio blends different property types across long-term residential units targeting gross yields around nine percent, with premium short-term units expected to reach 18 percent. Third, asset selection. We prioritize stabilized, income-generating apartments with proven leasing velocity.” 

Beyond current market conditions, Wall said the underwriting framework is designed to account for longer-term supply and operational pressures, incorporating assumptions around the roughly 400,000 residential units expected to be delivered by 2030 and stress-testing factors such as occupancy, which is projected to hover around 85 percent over the same period. He noted that the fund’s mark-to-market valuation methodology and quarterly cash flow distributions are intended to reinforce ongoing performance discipline. 

The launch of the fund comes as Dubai continues to see strong economic and demographic momentum, with the emirate approaching 2026 on the back of gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 4.9 percent and population growth of 5.4 percent, supported by long-term initiatives such as the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan. Looking ahead, Wall said structural dynamics are expected to continue shaping residential demand across the UAE. “Dubai added more than 208,000 residents in the past year and leads globally in high-net-worth individuals (HNWI) migration, with 9,800 net millionaire inflows," he said. "Population growth is currently outpacing new residential supply. At the same time, the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan and airport expansion in Dubai South are reshaping residential corridors and long-term demand patterns.” 

From Wall's perspective, rental performance is expected to remain resilient in communities supported by major infrastructure investment, alongside a continued shift toward greater institutional participation in the residential real estate market. And while acknowledging that pricing cycles are inevitable, Wall said income fundamentals are likely to remain a stabilizing factor over the medium to long term. “Short-term price normalization cycles will occur, creating attractive entry points, with any rebalancing expected to smooth out over the medium to long term, as Dubai remains undervalued relative to other global hubs," he pointed out. "Income durability will remain the anchor, with Dubai offering the strongest rent-to-price ratio versus peers such as London, Singapore, and New York. For disciplined, income-led portfolios positioned in high-absorption corridors, the structural drivers over 5–10 years remain compelling."

Pictured in the lead image is Oliver Wall, Head of Investment at EIGHTClouds. Image courtesy EIGHTClouds.