Cenomi Centers sells Riyadh shopping mall for $53m

Arabian Centres Co., know as Cenomi Centers and Saudi Arabia’s largest shopping mall operator, has sold Sahara Plaza in Riyadh for SAR200 million ($53.33 million).

The shopping centre is the fourth asset to be sold as part of the company’s programme to sell a portfolio of non-core assets worth SAR2 billion.

Sahara Plaza has been acquired by Alistithmar for Financial Securities and Brokerage Company (Alistithmar Capital), the Saudi-listed company said in a statement on Sunday.

The company will make a profit, based on the fair value of the property as of September 30, 2023, of SAR 79 million, which will be recognised in it’s Q1 2024 results.

Sahara Plaza opened in 2002 and was the first of 22 operating assets of Cenomi Centers.

A single-tenant department store, the asset no longer aligns with its company’sstrategic direction, Cenomi Centers said. The revenue impact of the sale will be marginal at SAR 5 million per year.

The asset sale programme has generated SAR1.14 billion to date, following the sale of a 17,700 sqm plot in the Olaya district in Riyadh for SAR230.5 million, and the sale of a 115,000 sqm plot in the Al-Raed District of Riyadh for SAR 644.5 million.

Other transactions include the sale of a 29,000 sqm plot in downtown Al Ahsa city for SAR62.5 million.

“With a further SAR800 million in sales proceeds expected, we remain committed to unlocking value in our portfolio,” said Alison Rehill-Erguven, CEO of Cenomi Centers.