The Abu Dhabi-based real estate company Tasweek Real Estate Development and Marketing is due to appoint a financial adviser to arrange its AED1bn ($272.2m) initial public offering (IPO) in the coming weeks.

CEO, Masood al-Awar, tells MEED that Tasweek is in the “final stages” of selecting banks, consultants and law firms to oversee the offering.

“We are all set for the announcement,” he said.

Tasweek remains in talks with both the Abu Dhabi Exchange and the Dubai Financial Market, but Al-Awar says the firm has not confirmed the final location for the listing.

He says he intends to float at least 55 per cent, if not up to 65 per cent of the company.

The IPO is intended to help fund the company’s growth, with the firm planning several new projects both within and outside the UAE.

“Market conditions are good for growth and we have what it takes for the company to go up a step,” Al-Awar says.  

He adds the company has already maintained high levels of disclosure and transparency and will be well-positioned to meet the demands of being a listed company.

“[It is] an enhancement of what we have been doing for the past five years,” he says.

Tasweek reported a 112 per cent increase in yearly profits in 2013 compared with 2012, driven by a 77 per cent increase in yearly revenues, although the company has not reported its exact figures.

The firm has a strong pipeline of projects, including a number in the healthcare and education sectors, areas Al-Awar says are “anti-recession” industries that will help provide the company with recurring revenue streams to buffer the impact of any downturn in the real estate markets.

One major project includes the construction of the Marrakech Healthcare City, which includes a hospital, hotel and apartments, which is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.

The company is also in negotiations about healthcare projects in the UK and France.

Tasweek will be launching a residential towers development in Abu Dhabi in the coming months, Al-Awar says.

The company is also due to launch hotel apartment developments in Thailand and Indonesia in the first half of 2015. The company has already developed residential complexes and luxury resorts in Malaysia.