Aldar Properties has sold two of its district cooling assets on Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Island to National Central Cooling Company (Tabreed) for AED963 million ($263 million).
The UAE’s biggest developer had bought a 100 percent stake in Saadiyat District Cooling (SDCL) and an 85 percent share in Saadiyat Cooling (SCL) in 2018 as part of a wider acquisition of assets from the emirate’s Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC).
The transaction is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2021, providing an internal rate of return of over 40 percent on the original equity investment by Aldar.
According to a release, the proceeds will be used to finance further growth of Aldar’s diversified portfolio of high-quality income-generating property.
Talal Al Dhiyebi, CEO of Aldar Properties, said: “Aldar is pursuing attractive acquisitions, implementing an active approach to asset management and continuously recycling capital to invest in future growth. In line with this strategy, Aldar will build on its strong financial and operating performance in 2020 by further deploying capital in the long-term growth of our two core real estate businesses – asset management and development management.”
Talal Al Dhiyebi, CEO of Aldar Properties
In October it was announced that Aldar would take over the development and management of projects worth AED30 billion ($8.2bn) in Abu Dhabi as part of an agreement with ADQ.
SDCL and SCL provide district cooling to Saadiyat Island in the UAE’s capital, which is home to the Louvre Abu Dhabi and developing rapidly into a major cultural and tourism centre.
Aldar is developing premier residential and mixed-use destinations on Saadiyat Island, including Al Mamsha and Saadiyat Grove, and owns extensive plots of infrastructure-enabled prime land on the island for future development.
Aldar Properties revealed a 30 percent increase in revenue for the third quarter and an eight percent rise in profits, driven by record sales generated in the emirate.
The real estate company reported revenues of AED2.1bn for Q3 and a AED416m net profit over the three-month period, despite the economic crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Abu Dhabi’s Tabreed CEO Bader Al Lamki
Bader Saeed Al Lamki, Tabreed’s CEO, said: “Moving forward, we are well placed – both financially and operationally – to continue to take advantage of further growth opportunities in the UAE market and beyond.”
In April Tabreed completed an AED2.48bn to buy Emaar Properties’ Downtown Dubai district cooling business, a move which helped drive a 13 percent increase in H1 profits. The company revealed a net profit of AED224.3m, while revenue increased by six percent, to AED710.02m in H1 2020.
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