DAMAC Properties Dubai: History, Projects & Delivery Record 2026

DAMAC Properties is a Dubai-based luxury real estate developer founded in 2002 by Hussain Sajwani, who built the business on an earlier catering and hospitality venture dating back to the early 1980s. Sajwani remains Founder and Chairman, with his daughter Amira Sajwani as Managing Director of Sales & Development and his son Ali Sajwani as Managing Director of Operations & Technology. Now the largest private real estate developer in the UAE and the wider Middle East, DAMAC has delivered more than 50,000 homes to date, closed 2025 with record annual sales of AED 36 billion, and handed over 8,800 residential units across Dubai in the first half of 2026 alone.

Few developers move as fast, or as loudly, as DAMAC. In November 2025 the company reportedly took in AED 11 billion in sales within five hours of launching DAMAC Islands 2 — a project now available through AB Properties. This guide covers the company's history, who runs it, its major communities across Dubai area by area, its delivery record, and what an investor should weigh before buying.

DAMAC Properties at a Glance

2002 launched in Dubai · 50,000+ homes delivered · AED 36 billion record 2025 sales · 8,800 units handed over in H1 2026

DAMAC's History: From Catering Contracts to Dubai's Skyline

Hussain Sajwani's business career started well outside real estate. From the early 1980s he built a catering and hospitality services business in Dubai, including contracts serving the growing population of expatriate workers arriving as the emirate industrialised — the kind of unglamorous, cash-generative business that, in hindsight, funded his entry into property. When Dubai passed a landmark law in 2002 allowing foreign nationals to own freehold property for the first time, Sajwani founded DAMAC Properties to build for exactly that new class of buyer, and the company grew alongside Dubai's off-plan boom through the 2000s.

DAMAC's ambitions went public in December 2013, when it became the first Middle East real estate company to list on the London Stock Exchange through a Global Depository Receipt programme, raising $379 million. It moved its listing to the Dubai Financial Market in January 2015, trading there for seven years before Sajwani bought out the remaining public shareholders in 2022 for AED 2.19 billion, taking the company fully private again. Since then, DAMAC has leaned further into scale and speed: DAMAC Islands sold out fast enough in 2024 to set a Guinness World Record, and its 2025 follow-up, DAMAC Islands 2, reportedly matched that intensity within hours of launch.

Key Milestones

• Early 1980s — Hussain Sajwani builds an early business empire in catering and hospitality in Dubai.
• 2002 — Following Dubai's new freehold property law, Sajwani founds DAMAC Properties.
• December 2013 — DAMAC becomes the first Middle East real estate company to list on the London Stock Exchange via Global Depository Receipts, raising $379 million.
• January 2015 — DAMAC lists on the Dubai Financial Market, exchanging its GDRs for ordinary shares.
• February 2017 — Opens Trump International Golf Club Dubai at DAMAC Hills.
• 2018 — Completes DAMAC Heights, an 88-storey, 335-metre tower in Dubai Marina.
• 2019 — Tops out DAMAC Tower Nine Elms, its first London riverside project.
• 2022 — Hussain Sajwani buys out remaining public shareholders for AED 2.19 billion, taking DAMAC fully private.
• 2024 — Launches DAMAC Islands; the launch sets a Guinness World Record for the highest real estate launch revenue in 24 hours.
• May 2025 — Becomes Chelsea Football Club's front-of-shirt sponsor for the rest of the 2024–25 season, alongside the Chelsea Residences branded project.
• September 2025 — Announces a $20 billion commitment to build data-centre capacity across multiple US states through its technology arm.
• November 2025 — Launches DAMAC Islands 2, reportedly taking AED 11 billion in sales within five hours; closes 2025 with record annual sales of AED 36 billion.
• H1 2026 — Hands over 8,800 residential units across Dubai and awards close to AED 10 billion in new construction contracts.

Who Leads DAMAC Properties?

Hussain Sajwani founded DAMAC in 2002 and remains Founder and Chairman, and, since buying out the company's remaining public shareholders in 2022, its sole owner. His daughter, Amira Sajwani, serves as Managing Director of Sales & Development and has become the company's most visible spokesperson at major launches, framing 2026 as a new era for DAMAC built around landmark projects and global partnerships following 2025's record sales year. His son, Ali Sajwani, is Managing Director of Operations & Technology and is leading the group's push into data-centre infrastructure alongside DAMAC's core real estate business; he has separately co-founded Amali Properties, a boutique ultra-luxury developer, in 2023.

DAMAC's Projects in Dubai: The Full Map, Area by Area

DAMAC Hills

The company's flagship master community, spanning roughly 3.9 million square metres and anchored by Trump International Golf Club Dubai, an 18-hole championship course that opened in February 2017. The community mixes golf-course villas (including Trump Estates) with apartment clusters, with delivered phases valued at more than AED 7 billion.

DAMAC Hills 2

A large, self-contained mid-market community built around resort-style leisure amenities, positioned as a more accessible entry point into the DAMAC Hills brand for buyers priced out of the original master community.

DAMAC Lagoons

A Mediterranean-inspired master community organised into destination-themed clusters — including Venice, Santorini and Costa Brava — combining townhouses and villas around lagoon-style waterways.

Dubai Land Residence Complex (DLRC) — DAMAC Islands & Islands 2

A tropical-island-themed villa community that has become DAMAC's fastest-selling launch pattern, with entire phases reportedly selling out within hours of release.

Business Bay

DAMAC Towers by Paramount Hotels & Resorts, a roughly 2,000-unit branded residence, sits alongside Safa One, Safa Two and the newer DAMAC District, a 2025 launch built around a combined living-and-working concept.

Dubai Marina

DAMAC Heights, an 88-storey, 335-metre tower completed in 2018, and Cavalli Tower, one of the group's branded-residence collaborations.

Dubai Maritime City

Chelsea Residences by DAMAC, a waterfront branded project developed in partnership with Chelsea Football Club, announced alongside DAMAC's front-of-shirt sponsorship deal for the 2024–25 season.

*Pricing, availability and handover dates above are subject to change — always confirm current figures with our sales team before making a decision.*

Branded Residences: DAMAC's Signature Play

DAMAC has built more branded-residence partnerships than almost any other Dubai developer, pairing fashion and hospitality names with specific towers rather than treating branding as a marketing add-on:

Beyond Dubai: International Projects and DAMAC Digital

DAMAC's footprint extends to 10-plus countries, including projects in Jeddah, Riyadh, Beirut, Amman, Doha, Baghdad, the Maldives, Toronto and London — where DAMAC Tower Nine Elms, its riverside residential tower, topped out in 2019.

In September 2025, the group announced a far bigger bet outside real estate entirely: a $20 billion commitment, led by Ali Sajwani, to build data-centre capacity across US states including Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Ohio, Illinois and Michigan, targeting more than 2,000 megawatts of capacity over four years. The group has separately targeted 55 megawatts operational in the Middle East by the end of 2025 and more than 300 megawatts across Southeast Asia by 2026, with a longer-term global target above 4,000 megawatts. It's a genuinely different business from villa and apartment sales — but for investors, it signals a group with the balance sheet to diversify well beyond its original Dubai real estate base.

Delivery Record and Recognition

DAMAC has delivered more than 50,000 homes since 2002, with a further 54,000+ units currently under construction. The pace has only accelerated recently: the company closed 2025 with record annual sales of AED 36 billion, and handed over 8,800 residential units across Dubai in the first half of 2026 alone while awarding close to AED 10 billion in new construction contracts — a sign of continued, funded delivery rather than a one-off sales spike.

Recognition and milestones include:

• Guinness World Record for the highest real estate launch revenue in 24 hours, set by DAMAC Islands (2024).
• AED 11 billion in sales within five hours reportedly recorded at the DAMAC Islands 2 launch (November 2025).
• Chelsea FC front-of-shirt sponsorship, 2024–25 season, alongside the Chelsea Residences branded project.
• First Middle East real estate company to list on the London Stock Exchange (December 2013).

*A note on the figures: DAMAC has been a private company since 2022 and no longer publishes the detailed quarterly financial disclosures a DFM-listed developer does, so unit and sales figures circulate primarily through company statements and press coverage rather than audited public filings. The figures above reflect the most consistent, most recently reported numbers at the time of writing — always confirm current availability and pricing directly before committing to a unit.*

A Balanced Investment Read Before You Buy

Strengths

• One of the deepest delivery records of any private Dubai developer — 50,000+ homes since 2002 — with 8,800 handed over in H1 2026 alone, suggesting genuine construction pace rather than sales-only momentum.
• Founder-led and fully privately owned since 2022, aligning Hussain Sajwani's personal capital directly with long-term execution rather than diluted public-market pressure.
• An unmatched roster of branded-residence partnerships (Versace, Cavalli, Paramount, de Grisogono, Chelsea FC), which tends to support international brand recognition and resale interest.
• Demonstrated ability to sell out very large phases almost immediately (DAMAC Islands, DAMAC Islands 2) — a genuine demand signal, not just marketing claims.
• A balance sheet strong enough to fund a $20 billion move into an entirely new industry (data centres), a sign of financial depth beyond real estate sales cycles.

Points worth scrutinizing

• Extremely fast sell-outs mean very large unit counts release into the same community within a tight window — worth checking how many neighbouring units in your specific cluster are handing over around the same time as yours.
• As a private company since 2022, DAMAC no longer publishes the detailed quarterly disclosures a DFM-listed developer like Emaar still provides — lean on project-level DLD/RERA records and escrow verification rather than public financial filings.
• Much of DAMAC's large-scale portfolio (DAMAC Hills, Lagoons, Islands) sits in outer growth corridors rather than central Dubai, so returns depend more on continued infrastructure build-out than for a comparable Downtown or Marina address.
• Always verify a project's specific escrow account and its registration on Dubai REST before signing, regardless of developer size or track record.

*This article is informational and analytical, not investment advice. Figures are drawn from DAMAC Properties' public statements and the press coverage cited, and project status may change over time.*

Frequently Asked Questions

Is DAMAC Properties a reliable real estate developer?

Yes. DAMAC is the largest private real estate developer in the UAE, has delivered more than 50,000 homes since 2002, and handed over 8,800 units across Dubai in the first half of 2026 alone.

When was DAMAC Properties founded?

2002, by Hussain Sajwani, following Dubai's new law allowing foreign nationals to own freehold property. Sajwani's earlier catering and hospitality business dates back to the early 1980s.

Who owns and leads DAMAC Properties?

Hussain Sajwani is Founder and Chairman, and has been the company's sole owner since taking it fully private in 2022. His daughter Amira Sajwani is Managing Director of Sales & Development, and his son Ali Sajwani is Managing Director of Operations & Technology.

What is DAMAC's most famous project?

DAMAC Hills, home to Trump International Golf Club Dubai, is generally considered the group's flagship, though its branded-residence towers with Versace, Cavalli and Paramount are equally well known.

Where are DAMAC's projects in Dubai?

DAMAC Hills, DAMAC Hills 2, DAMAC Lagoons, DAMAC Islands and Islands 2 (Dubai Land Residence Complex), Business Bay, Dubai Marina, and Dubai Maritime City.

Is DAMAC Properties publicly traded?

No. DAMAC traded on the Dubai Financial Market from 2015 to 2022, when Hussain Sajwani bought out the remaining public shareholders and took the company fully private.

Does DAMAC build outside Dubai?

Yes — the group has projects in 10-plus countries, including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, Iraq, the Maldives, Canada and the UK.

Can I buy a DAMAC property through AB Properties?

Yes. Abdelrahman Badr Properties (RERA license 38889) lists DAMAC developments including Damac Islands 2 in Dubai Land Residence Complex, and can source availability across the developer's other active launches.

Conclusion

DAMAC's path from a 1980s catering business to the largest private developer in the UAE runs through one well-timed decision: founding a real estate company in 2002, the exact year Dubai opened freehold ownership to foreign buyers. More than two decades on, that timing has compounded into 50,000+ homes delivered, a branded-residence portfolio few competitors can match, and a founder now betting DAMAC's balance sheet on data centres as well as villas. For a buyer, the read-through is straightforward: DAMAC builds fast, sells faster, and increasingly bets big outside real estate too.

Considering a unit in DAMAC Islands 2 or one of DAMAC's other active communities? Abdelrahman Badr Properties can walk you through availability, pricing and payment plans. Call or WhatsApp us at +971 58 677 4433, or reach out through our contact page — we typically respond the same day.