A multibillion-dollar property colossus of the Gulf is stalking some of Britain’s largest quoted real estate developers, The Times has learnt.

Aldar, Abu Dhabi’s biggest property company, is understood to be running the rule over the big three FTSE 100 property developers: Hammerson, Land Securities and British Land. City analysts and property sources said that Hammerson was the most likely fit for Aldar, whose chief executive is looking for exposure in the more mature property markets of the UK and France.

Aldar owns property assets valued at about £6 billion in the United Arab Emirates, North Africa, the Middle East and Singapore.

Hammerson has £7.3 billion of property of which £1.9 billion is in France and the bulk of the rest is in Britain. It also has long-term plans for a £1 billion scheme of City offices and homes dubbed Northacre covering 100,000 sq m. Hammerson’s shares are trading at a 28 per cent discount to net asset value, leaving it with a market value of £4.6 billion.

Ron Barrott, the chief executive of Aldar, said: “We are watching the markets very closely to see what to acquire. We are looking at companies which are listed in markets where we believe there is good potential and make good commercial sense. It rules the UK in.”

Aldar’s scrutiny of UK property companies has intensified over the past few weeks because of weakening share prices amid mounting concern about the short-term prospects for office and retail rents as the outlook for the UK economy weakens.

The market values of UK property companies had generally halved between January 2007 and the start of 2008. Share prices of Hammerson, British Land and Land Securities had recovered by between 15 per cent and 20 per cent by mid-March but over the past three weeks they have fallen between 5 per cent and 10 per cent.

Mr Barrott added: “The UK is a very mature market — the most mature market in the world. The return may not be high but the risk profile is better. Last year values were over the top, driven by highly leveraged investments which drove down yields artificially. Now yields are coming back to where they should naturally fall.”

Mr Barrott knows Hammerson and its chief executive, John Richards, well from his time working four years ago at Chelsfield, the former FTSE 250 property company. Mr Barrott sold his Stannifer property company for £60 million to Chelsfield shortly before Chelsfield was taken private for £1.6 billion.

Land Securities is sitting on about £16 billion of property but has a market value of only £7.5 billion. The company is seen as vulnerable to separate bids for its London business composed largely of offices and valued at £8 billion and its £6.7 billion retail business.

Aldar is 40 per cent owned by overseas investors and 60 per cent owned by Emirati.

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