JLL Middle East & Africa expands its healthcare offering following high profile project wins

Dubai, UAE, 30 June 2020 –  JLL, a leading professional services firm that specializes in real estate and investment management, has strengthened its healthcare offering following high profile advisory project wins in Saudi Arabia and across the region.

JLL’s healthcare team recently advised on a partnership between Al Murjan Group, a Saudi family business group, and Mediclinic Middle East, part of the UK’s Mediclinic International, that will see the establishment of an internationally accredited private hospital with 200 beds in Jeddah. 

Mediclinic Middle East will manage the hospital and support Al-Murjan Group with expertise and advisory services in planning, design and construction, with the commissioning of the hospital expected to open by the second quarter of 2022.

Additionally, JLL is growing its offering to respond to upcoming healthcare Public Private Partnerships (PPP) projects in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Oman that it believes will attract interest from international healthcare operators looking to partner with local investors and developers.

Thierry Delvaux, CEO of JLL MEA, said: “The region’s population has been rapidly growing, and over the past five years it has seen an average increase of 2.1 per cent to reach approximately 56.2 million, according to Oxford Economics. This type of population growth is well above the global average growth rate of 1.1 percent, and therefore it is imperative that governments and the private sector continue to actively drive the advancement of healthcare infrastructure in the region.”

Governments across the Middle East have been investing heavily to expand and upgrade their healthcare systems in recent years and, according to JLL, will need to adapt and evolve even faster, particularly given the need for greater focus on local healthcare capability development.

In Saudi Arabia, as part of the Kingdom’s 2020 budget, the government allocated 16.4 per cent of its spending on the health sector, while in the UAE, Dhs five billion was allocated for healthcare, a 26 per cent increase from 2016.

“Regional governments are working actively to enhance the quality of their healthcare,” said Sandeep Sinha, the recently appointed new Head of Healthcare, Strategic Consulting at JLL MENA, who will oversee the growth of JLL’s healthcare practice in the region.

“This is a significant time for the industry, particularly with the increase of private investment into the sector, as well as upcoming healthcare PPP projects across the region.”

JLL, whose healthcare solutions span across healthcare delivery, pharmaceuticals, life sciences and medical technology sub-segments, says there are three key pillars that will drive the future of the industry in the Middle East, including: private sector participation; advanced infrastructure; and technology.

Investment into healthcare in the GCC countries will also continue to grow, according to JLL, and will consist of a range of factors including the need to build world-class healthcare infrastructure, expertise and services as GCC governments have increasingly come to recognize the potential for attracting medical tourists from overseas to the region. 

Across the Middle East and Africa (MEA) JLL is a leading player in the real estate and hospitality services markets. The firm has worked in 35 countries across the region and employs over 900 internationally qualified professionals across its offices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Jeddah, Al Khobar, Cairo, Casablanca and Johannesburg www.jll-mena.com