Abu Dhabi’s Aldar acquires office tower for $179m

Abu Dhabi developer Aldar Properties has acquired an office tower in the city’s Capital Gate district for Dhs658m ($179.1m).

The firm said International Tower comprises 39,000sqm of Grade A commercial space and will immediately contribute to its net operating income.

Key tenants include Abu Dhabi Systems & Information Centre (ADSIC), AECOM, Wood Group, McKinsey & Company and BAE Systems.

“The acquisition of International Tower clearly demonstrates our belief in the strength of Abu Dhabi’s commercial real estate market. With a strong mix of existing tenants, this grade A office tower will make an immediate contribution to net operating income, in line with our strategy to grow recurring income from our portfolio of high-quality assets,” Aldar CEO Talal Al Dhiyebi.

“Supported by our strong balance sheet, we will continue to assess the market for opportunities that will further drive growth of our portfolio.”

Aldar is building up an asset management portfolio to improve is recurring income. The company also recently retained a proportion of its Water’s Edge residential development as part of its wider Dhs18bn ($4.9bn) portfolio.

In the third quarter the developer reported 18.45 per cent decline in third quarter profit year-on-year to Dhs601m ($163.6m) amid a wider slowdown in the Abu Dhabi property market.

Read: Abu Dhabi’s Aldar reports 18.45% dip in Q3 profit

Property consultancy Asteco said in its third quarter report that apartment and villa sales prices were down 10 per cent and 6 per cent year-on-year respectively.

Read: Abu Dhabi residential rents down up to 10% in Q3