ADCB to back Gulf Capital with $1bn Al Maryah Central project

Al Maryah Central will be connected to The Galleria mall, and will house the first Macy’s department store outside the UAE and a first Bloomingdale’s for the capital.

Al Maryah Central is a new extension of The Galleria, that will be connected to the shopping centre via a bridge. Courtesy Gulf Related

Gulf Capital’s US$1 billion development of the retail project Al Maryah Central will be financed largely by Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, its chief executive said.

Gulf Capital through Gulf Related, a joint venture with New York-based Related Companies, is finalising a loan arrangement with the Abu Dhabi lender for 65 per cent of the total value of the shopping centre that will feature department stores the Macy's and Bloomingdale's, Karim El Solh told The National yesterday.

The remaining 35 per cent amounting to US$350 million has been sourced from its own funds via the company’s equity shareholders.

“They wanted to be exposed to retail investments in Abu Dhabi,” Mr El Solh said at the groundbreaking event for Al Maryah Central in the capital yesterday.

Shares of ADCB rose as much as 5.3 per cent on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange yesterday.

In the past, banks were focused on financing “government entities”, said Nabil Farhat, a partner at Al Fajer Securities. “But now with the new central bank regulations they need to reduce their exposure to these entities to the parameters allowed by the central bank. Thus they go after private sector projects.”

The 2.3 million square feet Al Maryah Central, which will be connected to The Galleria mall, will house the first Macy’s department store outside the US and a first Bloomingdale’s for the capital.

About one-third of the new shopping centre has already been leased by the Dubai-based retail conglomerate Al Tayer, which operates a Bloomingdale’s in The Dubai Mall.

Upon completion in 2018, the size of Al Maryah Central combined with The Galleria will be just a little smaller than Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates or Abu Dhabi’s Yas Mall. It will have more than 500 stores and 90 dining options, Mr El Solh said.

Investors are increasingly looking for opportunities in the UAE’s retail and hospitality sectors.

The Marka IPO on the Dubai Financial Market earlier this year was oversubscribed 36 times as investors poured Dh10 billion into the offering.

There was also massive demand for shares of Emaar Malls Group, which operates The Dubai Mall, in its October listing. The company sought to raise $1.85bn but collected $80bn from subscribers.

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