Aldar and Mubadala jointly buy Al Maryah Tower for $123m

WAM

Aldar Properties and Mubadala Investment Company, an Abu Dhabi sovereign investor, have partnered to acquire Al Maryah Tower, a prime Grade A commercial office property on Al Maryah Island, for AED 450 million ($122.51 million), state-owned WAM news agency reported.

The transaction gives Aldar control of all Grade A office space at Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) following the recent acquisition of four commercial towers from Mubadala in July 2022.

Aldar will hold the controlling stake with 60 percent ownership, while Mubadala will have a 40 percent stake. The asset will be managed by Aldar Investment Properties (AIP), taking its total net leasable area (NLA) across its portfolio to 2 million sq m.

The 25-storey tower is adjacent to Aldar’s four commercial buildings at ADGM, adding further weight to the company’s growing commercial portfolio.

Khalifa Al Romaithi, executive director of the UAE Real Estate Unit at Mubadala’s UAE investments platform, believed the deal would help “position ADGM and Al Maryah Island as the most desirable destination in the region for business, leisure, and entertainment”.

Jassem Saleh Busaibe, chief executive officer at Aldar Investment, said that the four office towers acquired earlier this year at ADGM currently boast an occupancy rate of almost 90 percent amid growing demand for Grade A office space across Abu Dhabi.

He added: “The addition of Al Maryah Tower to our commercial portfolio allows us to meet this growing demand head on, while building scale and driving the efficiency of our recurring income platform.”

Al Maryah Tower is set to welcome its first tenants in 2023, offering single and multi-tenant office space across more than 32,000 sq m of NLA.

The joint venture parties will also take ownership of the car park, with over 1,000 spaces and a parking ratio significantly higher than the municipal average at 1:31 sq m.

Launched in October 2015 on Al Maryah Island, ADGM is Abu Dhabi’s international financial centre and the only financial free zone in the emirate that enables occupiers to conduct both onshore and offshore businesses.