Shimaa Hefzy

Bahrain’s Al Abraj Restaurants Group intends to invest the proceeds of its initial public offering on the Bahrain Bourse in expansions to open new branches in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia and to finance dividends, Chairman Hamad Rashid Issa told Zawya Arabic.

The group, which was established in 1987 and operates in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, currently offers about 38.18 million shares representing 35% of the total capital on the Bahrain Bourse.

The subscription for both institutions and individuals began on November 24 and will end on December 8. The share is expected to start trading on the main market of the Bahrain Bourse on December 19.

The group in Bahrain has 37 branches, 5 franchises, and 22 cloud kitchens (i.e. restaurants that sell online only). In Saudi Arabia, it has 3 franchises.

“50% of it (the proceeds from the IPO) will be used to finance the upcoming expansions. We have 3 (new) branches in Bahrain. These 3 branches will open in the first half of 2025,” according to Issa in a video interview with Zawya Arabi on Thursday, which will be published in full later.

He added: "At the same time, we have studies on the best areas in which we can locate in Saudi Arabia, and we expect to open the first branch (owned by the group) in early 2026."

The group intends to raise up to BD9 million ($23.9 million) from the offering at a share price of BD0.236 ($0.63), with 70% of the offering allocated to institutions.

The group intends to implement dividend distributions of 8% annually, distributed every three months.

(Prepared by: Shaimaa Hefzy, for communication: zawya.arabic@lseg.com)

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