The Al Habtoor Group announced on Monday 2 November 2026 its decision to sell all its assets and investments in Lebanon. The Emirati conglomerate intends to refocus on markets considered more stable. This decision extends the cessation of activities announced in January. It does not mean that sales have already taken place.
The Board of Directors aims at a complete withdrawal of the Lebanese portfolio. The perimeter includes hotels, commercial and residential properties, land and other group assets. No buyer, amount of assignment or schedule of execution is included in the advertisement.
Al Habtoor organises active asset withdrawal
The group provides for a structured procedure based on commercial criteria. Each asset will be evaluated separately. Transactions will depend on market conditions and valuations. The advertisement therefore does not establish that a buyer will redeem the whole in one operation.
Al Habtoor presents this choice as the result of a strategic review of its investments. It calls for long-term stability, predictability of the business environment and growth prospects. It does not designate a market to receive precisely the proceeds of future sales.
Two hotels in Sin el-Fil in the heart of the heritage
The group’s presence in Lebanon exceeds one hotel address. His official portfolio mentions the Al Habtoor Grand Beirut and the Metropolitan Palace Beirut, in Sin el-Fil, in the Beyruth city. These establishments combine accommodation, catering and reception spaces. Their activities also concern professional and event meetings.
The chronology published by Al Habtoor established the opening of the Metropolitan Palace in 2001. It also indicates its reopening on December 30, 2022, with 185 rooms and suites. This figure describes the establishment on that date: it does not constitute an updated inventory of the rooms available at the time of the sale decision.
The commercial component is also part of this establishment. On 25 April 2023, the group announced the revival of the trading space of its Sin el-Fil complex under the name The Sooq Avenue. He then provided a 12-month grace period for tenants. This initiative was intended to facilitate their settlement despite the economic crisis.
The historical heritage also includes Habtoor Land in Jamhour, Mount Lebanon. The chronology of the group places the operation of this leisure park between 2004 and 2011. It would therefore be incorrect to present its judgment as a new consequence of the November 2026 announcement. The press release does not provide a detailed inventory of parcels or interests to be disposed of.
A closure announced in January, without a quantified social balance sheet
On 28 January 2026, Al Habtoor announced the closure of its operations in Lebanon, including its hotels. He also announced that he wanted to terminate the contracts of all his employees in the country. The group then explained that it was seeking to halt losses and protect its interests.
The group denounced prolonged instability, hostile campaigns and public attacks against its activities. He also criticized the Lebanese institutions for failing to provide adequate structural and protective solutions. According to his management, the accumulation of financial burdens and risks made continued exploitation unsustainable. These grievances constitute the group’s position, not the conclusions of a judicial decision.
The social scale of withdrawal remains difficult to quantify. At the time of the January announcement, a news agency had not received a reply from the head office on the number of employees concerned. Nor does the press release of 2 November provide any balance sheet of redundancies, compensation or details of possible job takeovers.
The decision to close, the execution of redundancies and the disposal of buildings are therefore different steps. The available announcements do not allow the exact date of completion of each of them, establishment by establishment.
Threats denounced and hope for a disappointed recovery
Security concerns precede general closure. On 11 June 2024, the group had given up launching its television channel from Lebanon. He invoked physical threats against his founder and his teams, as well as defamation campaigns. Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor then explained their security and sought another country for this project. The communiqué also announced criminal and civil complaints, without establishing judicially the identity or responsibility of the alleged perpetrators.
However, the discourse had not followed a purely negative path. In an interview published by the Saudi press on 16 January 2025, the leader planned to revive the shopping centre and Habtoor Land. He expressed confidence in Joseph Aoun and Nawaf Salam, while demanding guarantees of security and governance. He said he maintained wages during temporary closures, including during the war and after the explosion of the port.
These statements inform the change of course, without constituting a promise still valid today. In January 2025, Al Habtoor made it necessary for the new leaders to take action. By January 2026, his group considered that the operating conditions were no longer met. In November, he no longer proposes to discontinue the activity: he decides to divest ownership of his investments.
Blocked funds, another reason for disengagement
The withdrawal is also part of an old financial dispute. On 26 January 2026, Al Habtoor estimated the losses and damage sustained in Lebanon at over $1.7 billion. In particular, it questioned restrictions on access to and transfer of bank deposits. The dispute therefore does not relate solely to hotel use or operational profitability. It also concerns the availability of funds in Lebanese banks.
In the same statement, the management accused the Lebanese authorities and the Bank of Lebanon of damaging its investments. She also blamed them for the lack of corrective measures after her amicable steps. The group indicated that it had notified the dispute as early as January 2024. This chronology distinguishes the banking conflict from the commercial decision to sell.
This amount corresponds to an estimate advanced by the group. It does not represent the price charged for its goods, their market value or compensation already granted. The sales notice does not publish any global valuation to compare these data.
On 23 April, Al Habtoor announced the undertaking of an international arbitration against the Lebanese Republic. Represented by White & Case, he stated that he had forwarded his application through the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes in Washington. It invoked the protections provided for in the applicable bilateral investment agreement.
This approach does not prejudge State responsibility or the amount of any compensation. The announcement of 2 November does not present the sale as the result of a settlement of the dispute.
A departure that does not sum up all the Lebanese hotels
Al Habtoor’s strategy alone is not sufficient to demonstrate a general withdrawal of foreign investors. Other projects follow a different schedule. The official website of the Four Seasons Hotel Beirut is currently announcing a reopening in the summer of 2027, with 230 renovated rooms and suites.
The establishment had suffered significant damage in the explosion of the port of Beirut on 4 August 2020. Its reopening, initially announced in early 2026, therefore depends on reconstruction and renovation. It is always an expected reopening, not an establishment already put back in service. This perspective does not automatically compensate for the consequences of the withdrawal of Al Habtoor. It only recalls that investment decisions must be examined by company.
For Al Habtoor’s portfolio, the next decisive information will be the assets actually proposed, the purchasers selected and the terms of the transactions. The group plans to provide details of the transfer procedure at a later stage.
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