Union Properties receives Dh400m bid for minority stake in Dubai Autodrome

The Dubai-listed developer says it is also looking to acquire Dh740m of real estate assets in the UAE

Dubai Autodrome is the UAE’s first multi-purpose motorsports and entertainment facility and is located in Motor City. Courtesy Dubai Autodrome. 

Dubai developer Union Properties has received a Dh400 million offer to sell a 40 per cent stake in its subsidiary, Dubai Autodrome, the company said in a bourse filing on Thursday.

“We are working on studying the offer and it will be discussed in the upcoming meeting of the board ... to allow us to take the appropriate decision for the full benefit and interest of the company’s shareholders,” Khalifa Hasan Al Hammadi, chairman of Union Properties, said in a statement to the Dubai Financial Market, where its shares trade.

The company board, which is scheduled to meet on September 29, will also discuss the acquisition of real estate assets in the UAE worth Dh740m.

Dubai Autodrome, which is the UAE’s first multi-purpose motorsports and entertainment facility located in Motor City, is Union Properties' trophy asset. The subsidiary is 100 per cent owned by the developer and was established in 2004.

Mr Al Hammadi said Union Properties has a number of subsidiaries with “added value and works in vital sectors that achieve sustainable growth”.

“We are in the process of converting a number of those subsidiaries into private joint stock companies,” he added.

In August, the developer outlined it plans to list three of its subsidiaries on the DFM, as it reorganises its business to cut costs and improve its bottom line. Facilities management company ServeU; The FitOut, which specialises in interior fit-outs of offices, hotels and restaurants, and Dubai Autodrome are among the firms lined up for listing.

In August, Union Properties said it is looking for “suitable investment opportunities in various sectors, including the health and hospitality sectors” where it is assessing the right targets for acquisitions.

Union Properties narrowed losses for the second-quarter by 54 per cent, on the back of cost-cutting measures. The group’s net loss for the three months ending June 30 reached Dh38.6m, compared with a Dh84m loss a year ago.

The company, whose projects include Motor City and Uptown Mirdif, reached an agreement with Emirates NBD in August to restructure an outstanding debt of Dh946m.

The developer also announced plans to start a new project, Motor City Hills, in Dubai overlooking Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road near Dubai Autodrome. The project includes 195 villas, 490 townhouses and six commercial land plots.

Union Properties has built more than 60,000 units in recent years across a number of projects in Dubai.