Tenders

Land Sterling

Prepared for the Future

MIDDLE EAST Hamza Betraoui, managing director at Land Sterling, tells Big Project ME that the real estate consultancy’s planned diversification will position it as a market leader in a digitallyenabled future

What expertise does Land Sterling have in the regional market and what are the types of services it offers clients? Land Sterling is a market leader in real estate consultancy based in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh. Being in the industry for 12 years, Land Sterling was able to provide professional property expertise cutting through various regions including the Middle East, North Africa & Europe.

We help our clients with analytical and research-based advice to make informed property decisions, reducing risk and improving overall success. Land Sterling offers a full range of property consultancy services in accordance to RICS and International Valuation Standards across different industries. You’ve recently announced that the company intends to diversify its offerings. Why you are you doing so and what benefits do you envision this bringing to your client base? As a company based in the service industry, what keeps us progressing is our steadfast resolve to develop, be part of the global transformation and most importantly to serve our clients better. With over a decade of presence, we wanted to be able to support the client’s necessities at various levels. Diversity of offering has allowed us to learn and assist with the client’s needs entirely and also create viable business alterations for long-term development.

Land Sterling is a one-stop shop for all the real estate requirements and our clients can rest assured of being in the right place and with the best team. Our diverse and highly experienced team is well equipped to understand and advise right from Technical Consulting, Advisory & Management Services for the Built Environment, Property Valuation & Strategic Consulting, Plant & Machinery Valuation and Capital Markets to Building Innovative Solutions. Our latest diversification helps our clients with familiarity and convenience, saving them the hassle of scouting and dealing with multiple service providers in the same product line.

With technology playing an increasingly important role across the economic spectrum, how is Land Sterling developing and utilising technology to improve services? The world we live in today is

continuously emerging as a result of technological advancements. With the changing market dynamics, the reliability of the internet, technology, mobile applications etc. is constantly increasing. We believe that the role of technology in business will only see an upward growth and this changing trend has enabled us to make use of the latest technological resources to provide the finest services most efficiently.

As Artificial intelligence continues to act as a technological avant-gardist for the foreseeable future, we believe it is essential to make use of it to the best potential. Our highly skilled IT and software development team makes sure we are up and about in the technological world to make the Land Sterling experience as quick and competent as possible for our esteemed patrons. This can be seen through the breakthrough AI technologies we have introduced in our line of business.

What are some of the other innovations and USPs that Land Sterling offers in comparison to its competitors? We believe in putting our customers first. Being there for our clients has been our motto which has helped us withstand the changing market dynamics. Our team is keen and accessible round the clock to ensure the client’s requirements are met and serviced in the highest standard and in an economical way. In line with Land Sterling’s strategic vision to be future-ready, we have introduced advanced technology into our systems. We have, as a start, introduced a new department – “Building Innovation Solutions” (BIS) to explore, identify and source innovative technology & AI-driven solutions with groundbreaking applications for the building & infrastructure sector.

For this, the Product list of BIS is dynamic and will get updated as solutions get identified and sourced. BIS is started with BrainBox AI - an energy-saving solution. We have more products lined up which also includes “AI Water Intelligence” – a leak management system.

Our Strategic Consulting and Valuations department has been able to make use of the technological progressions interjected in the system. The developments have served our consultants and surveyors to provide swift and high-quality real estate services using inhouse software and web-based technology. Also, our new telecommunication system assures everyone in the team is reachable wherever they are with the introduction of mobilebased software linked with the landline. This has enabled us to be approachable to the clients at any time during the day.

We believe that the role of technology in business will only see an upward growth and this changing trend has enabled us to make use of the latest technological resources to provide the finest services most efficiently”

What does the future of property valuation look like and how is Land Sterling is positioning itself to be at the forefront of this change? Real estate is a dynamic market. Property valuation being one of the core services offered, we can see the changing subtleties in the market every day. Being an RICS regulated company, we keep ourselves abreast of the latest trends, standards, rules and regulations in the structure and look into incorporating the latest technology to keep up with the growing demand for the service, especially in these uncertain times.

The Futures report, published by RICS, outlined the key drivers of change for the land, real estate and construction sectors and the shift from transactional to advisory roles, stating that: ‘… disintermediation, triggered by access to information and the processing power of technology, is causing parts of agency, brokerage, valuation and cost estimation roles to take on a more servicesand advisory-based approach.’

The figures from the research show that valuation is among the most likely to be affected in the (near) future due to emergent digitisation. We foresee a future that is rely heavily on data (including big data), blockchain, artificial intelligence and automated valuation models.

We have our in-built valuation software which enables us to prepare accurate and comprehensive valuation reports. We are steadily improvising our database and the way how our research is carried out. Introducing AI into the valuation and consulting department is on the anvil and we are confident and prepared for the change. We believe with our relentless drive for training and development of our team, coupled with the technological enhancements in the operation, we are well equipped and prepared for the future in the best interest of all the stakeholders.