Al Habtoor Sells Off Its Entire Lebanon Property Portfolio

Al Habtoor Group has begun the final stage of its withdrawal from Lebanon, moving from a suspension of operations to a complete disposal of assets. The Dubai-based conglomerate will sell its entire portfolio in the country, including hotels, commercial and residential real estate and land. The sale ends an operating presence that ran for more than two decades. The group’s board reached the decision after what it described as a comprehensive study and evaluation, concluding that a full exit is the most appropriate option at the current stage under its investment policy.

The operational turning point came earlier. Last January, the group announced it was halting its activities in Lebanon and pursued legal action against the Lebanese authorities, seeking compensation it put at more than $1.7 billion. The complaint centered on functioning rather than politics. The group said severe and prolonged damage to its investments stemmed from measures and restrictions imposed by the authorities and Banque du Liban, which blocked its ability to freely access and transfer funds deposited in Lebanese banks. In effect, money already on the ground could not be moved or used, and the operating environment deteriorated accordingly.

Execution of the exit now follows an organized mechanism grounded in commercial and investment fundamentals. Each asset will be valued independently. The group has not disclosed a timeline or further details. That structure signals a deliberate process rather than a fire sale. Whether the exit completes quickly will depend on the availability of suitable buyers, the prices obtainable and conditions in the real estate and hospitality markets, meaning the pace of delivery rests with market absorption as much as with the seller’s intent.

The assets involved anchor the group’s on-the-ground footprint in the country. In Lebanon, Al Habtoor owns the Al Habtoor Grand Beirut and the Metropolitan Palace Beirut, alongside other investments and activities, including banking operations tied to the group’s business there. The company, founded in 1970 as an engineering firm and now active in hospitality, automotive, real estate, education and publishing, had built its Lebanese presence from the late 1990s onward through hospitality, real estate and entertainment. Those are the operating businesses that must now be transferred to new owners, asset by asset.

Meanwhile, the backdrop is a service and banking environment that has not functioned normally since 2019. Lebanon’s severe financial and economic crisis produced restrictions on bank withdrawals and transfers, cutting off most depositors, both individuals and companies, from their foreign-currency deposits. For a group holding hotels and property dependent on cash flow and capital mobility, the operating constraints were decisive. The exit also unfolds as Lebanese authorities work to revive relations with Gulf states, particularly Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, after years of political and security tensions that weighed on Gulf engagement and investment in the country.

Gulf capital had long been a major source of investment and financial flows into Lebanon, but several Gulf countries froze investments or restricted travel by their nationals in recent years, against a backdrop of security and political tensions, particularly those linked to Iran-backed Hezbollah. The restoration of those channels remains a work in progress, and Al Habtoor’s exit is a measure of how far implementation of renewed economic ties lags behind the diplomatic opening.

Observers say the full departure of a group of this size carries significance beyond a real estate transaction. It reflects a reordering of capital allocation priorities, converting a Lebanese asset portfolio into liquidity that can be redeployed in other markets. It also presents Gulf investors with a direct comparison between an investment environment burdened by banking restrictions and alternatives offering greater clarity on returns. The group affirms that its international investment strategy continues and that it is searching for opportunities consistent with its future goals. What remains undisclosed are the details that will determine how this delivery actually unfolds: the portfolio’s value, the duration of the sale and the expected return.

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