Brookfield and Lunate-Backed Housing Platform Alya Opens Regional Headquarters in DIFC

The platform is backed by Canadian investment firm Brookfield and by Lunate, an independent investment firm based in Abu Dhabi that WAM said manages more than $125 billion in assets. Alya is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority, the independent regulator for financial services carried out in or from DIFC.

WAM said Alya plans to develop residential projects across the Gulf to international standards of design, delivery and corporate governance, and to use its DIFC base to build ties with institutional investors as it expands.

Otto Dreyer, Alya's chief executive, said the backing of Brookfield and Lunate allowed the company to build "a development platform held to institutional standards of governance and transparency."

Salmaan Jaffery, chief business development officer of the DIFC Authority, said the centre "continues to attract globally backed businesses that choose Dubai as the base for their long-term regional growth."

The WAM report did not give Alya's capital base, target markets or a project pipeline. In May 2025, Brookfield and Lunate announced a $1 billion residential joint venture aimed at build-to-sell housing in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and other Middle East markets, with its own development and management team. WAM did not say whether Alya is that venture.

The launch is another example of global asset managers working with Abu Dhabi capital to put institutional money into Gulf property development, a market long dominated by local developers. It also adds to the run of firms announcing DIFC offices this week, including JP Morgan Private Bank, which opened a branch in the centre on Monday.