Gulf Construction Online

Real Estate

News in brief

01 September 2020

Union Properties completes strategic blueprint, restructures debt

Union Properties, the main developer of Dubai Motor City, has announced the completion of its three-year strategic blueprint, which includes the initial plans to launch its new 2.9-million-sq-ft mixed-use project, Motor City Hills.

Motor City Hills overlooks Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road and is adjacent to the emirate’s first race track, Dubai Autodrome. It will feature a total of 195 residential villas, 490 townhouses and six commercial properties.

Chairman Khalifa Al Hammadi says Union Properties was excited to roll out its new plans. “We want to continue to be a pioneer in the real estate industry, with products suitable for all customer and investor categories,” states Al Hammadi.

Union Properties has launched numerous projects and completed more than 60,000 units in recent years, including OIA Residence and Uptown in Motor City, Index Tower and the Ritz Carton in DIFC and the Green Community in DIP, along with Uptown Mirdiff, he adds.

Meanwhile, the developer says it has successfully reached an agreement with Emirates NBD for the full restructuring of its outstanding Dh946 million ($258 million) debt with the bank along with payment of the initial amount as per the new terms.

This agreement with Emirates NBD, as the main creditor of Union Properties, will substantially improve the debt profile of the group.

As a result, Union Properties will have a significant reduction of its instalments as compared to the situation prior to this debt restructuring and better repayment terms which will improve the cash flow position of the company.

On the successful debt restructuring, Chairman Khalifa Hasan Al Hammadi says: “Restructuring our outstanding debt with Emirates NBD was our number one priority. This is now done. With better cash flow and the support of our main creditor, we can from this day exclusively focus on the development of our activities and projects.”

“This is a strong sign of confidence from our banking partner and an important milestone for our group,” states Al Hammadi.

ICD Brookfield Place wins Leed Platinum rating

ICD Brookfield Place, the region’s premier lifestyle and business destination, has been awarded the prestigious LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum rating for sustainability and green building initiatives.

Located in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and directly connected to the Gate Avenue, it will become one of the most prominent office towers in Dubai and will establish a new benchmark in commercial development for the region.

A 1.5-million-sq-ft mixed-use development, ICD Brookfield Place features a landmark office tower, large open civic spaces, world-class food emporium, and fine dining restaurants.

The 53-storey tower will provide over 900,000 sq ft of Grade A lettable office space. The top three levels of the tower will comprise the exclusive sky view suites, a crowning feature of the landmark building.

ICD Brookfield Place is being jointly developed by the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), a government-owned wealth fund, and Canada’s Brookfield Property Partners at an investment of over $1 billion in Dubai, UAE.

Sharjah records $1.68bn property deals in H1

The northern UAE emirate of Sharjah has recorded nearly 28,710 real estate transactions worth Dh6.2 billion ($1.68 billion) during the first six months, up 4.1 per cent over the same period last year.

The sales transactions recorded in the first half totalled a 15.3-million-sq-ft area, according to the latest report of the Sharjah Real Estate Registration Department (SRERD).

Residential properties topped the list with 845 deals constituting 69.4 per cent of the total transactions, followed by commercial properties with 166 transactions (13.6 per cent), industrial properties with 166 transactions (13.6 per cent) and finally the agricultural properties with 41 transactions (3.4 per cent).

As for the number of traded properties, these were led by 393 transactions of constructed lands, followed by 365 empty land transactions, and 340 residential apartments transactions.

Investors from 44 nationalities were involved in the reported real estate transactions in the emirate in the first six months of the year.

These included 4,392 GCC investors who traded 5,584 properties, worth Dh5.4 billion, and 630 foreign investors who traded 633 properties, worth Dh853 million.

SRERD Director General Abdul Aziz Ahmed Al Shamsi Al Shamsi points out that the modern road network, new tourist utilities, and development projects in all the major areas of Sharjah have considerably attracted investors and businessmen to stay and invest in the emirate.

Up to 1,166 mortgage transactions, worth Dh2.8 billion, were recorded in Sharjah in the first half of the year. Also, up to 1,218 sales transactions were registered across the emirate during the period.

Most of these were recorded in Sharjah city with 1,030 transactions valued at Dh1.6 billion. They covered 86 areas, led by Al Khan, Al Nahda, and Al Tai, constituting 46 per cent of the total city transactions.