Gulf Construction Online

Real Estate

News in brief

01 September 2019

Azizi launches sale of 329 retail outlets in Dubai

Azizi Developments, a leading real estate company in the UAE, has added retail units to its portfolio with the launch of sale of 329 retail outlets across all of its Dubai developments.

Through Azizi Retail, Azizi Developments’ division for outlets, the retail spaces are embedded into its master-planned communities and residential towers, adding leisure, shopping and eatery amenities and creating a bustling social space with a strong potential for business profitability.

Farhad Azizi, CEO of Azizi Developments, says: “Retail spaces enhance our communities and are a lucrative investment that our research attributes to growing investor interest in strategically placed brick-and-mortar outlets. It is a mutually beneficial integration whereby our residents benefit from lifestyle-enhancing leisure and convenience options, while commercial entities have a bustling environment to conduct prosperous businesses in.”

Azizi Developments’ recently launched retail space spans more than 410,000 sq ft. Azizi Riviera houses a total of 177 retail units, developments in Al Furjan comprise 70, Healthcare City towers are host to 42, Palm Jumeirah buildings have 18, and other buildings in Jebel Ali, Sports City, Studio City and Meydan offer 22.

Retail units on Azizi Riviera’s 1.6-km integrated boulevard and 2.6-km canal walk are considered to be a smart investment with the community being home to over 16,000 residents, and are being forecast to welcome a sizable volume of visitors. With outstanding visibility, ample parking space, substantial footfall, and exceptional connectivity, retail units in Riviera are well-positioned to record a strong investor response, he says.

IBC to acquire $5bn worth holiday homes in Dubai

UAE-based IBC Group has announced plans to acquire 10,000 premier properties in Dubai, to furnish and manage as holiday homes.

The company says it has contracted Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices (BHHS) Gulf Properties on an exclusive basis to play an advisory brokerage role to assist in identifying, acquiring and financing the properties.

The deal is valued at $5 billion, with a possible scale up to acquiring one million properties in over 100 cities across the globe, says the company.

Operating in the UAE since 2014, the IBC Group has focused on private equity investment in real estate, arts and future technologies.

The group is backed by global banking and finance leader Khurram Shroff, who is also the co-founder of The Gallery Suites Vacation Rentals, a worldwide short-term rental management firm, which focuses on providing specialised services to property investors, homeowners, and Airbnb hosts.

With this strategic partnership with BHHS for leveraging its expertise, IBC Group aims to become a key influencer in building the confidence in the real estate industry across the Middle East.

The properties to be acquired will be financed via the islamic finance vehicle Sukuk, a Sharia-compliant bond.

Senaeyat caters to e-commerce warehousing needs

The UAE’s first lease-to-own industrial warehouses development Senaeyat, which was launched in June, will significantly fill the gap in the market for storage space in the emirates, according to global real estate services and investment firm CBRE.

CBRE points out that demand for warehouses is growing exponentially in the UAE as the popularity of e-commerce and online shopping continues to increase. Yet, despite the increase in demand, the supply for storage space in the country remains low and it is this gap in the market that Senaeyat aims to address.

According to Saleh Abdullah Lootah, CEO of Lootah Real Estate Development (Lootah), developer of Senaeyat, online shopping transactions in the region and in the UAE have been increasing by double-digits year on year, which in turn creates more demand for warehousing.

“All over the world, e-commerce has been driving the expansion in the warehouse leasing market. This is evident in the UAE, which enjoys the world’s highest mobile penetration, high purchasing power per capita and large consumer spending. All these factors result in a huge demand for warehouses, which are also interchangeably called fulfilment centres, today. However, the warehouse inventory in the UAE has not been catching up with this upward trend,” he says.

“The Senaeyat project will strongly contribute to the growth of the UAE’s industrial and logistics ecosystem by providing cost-effective options for businesses without compromising excellence,” he adds.

The UK-based consultancy firm Business Monitor International (BMI) puts the average annual online spend per person in the UAE at around $300, more than three times of Saudi Arabia’s $90 and France’s $94.

According to 2019 Agility Emerging Market Index, the UAE is among the top three emerging markets in the world for logistics after China and India and ranks first in the region.

Lootah launched Senaeyat to meet the demand for logistical needs and easy warehousing solutions. As an affordable industrial partner, it enables businesses to own warehouses over a period of 10 years. Through its lease-to-own turnkey and strategically-located properties, rental expense becomes a property asset that appreciates over time.