Dubai’s Union Properties says arbitration claims by its subsidiary has reached Dhs3.5bn

Dubai-listed developer Union Properties has confirmed that the arbitration claim filed by one of its subsidiaries has now reached approximately Dhs3.5bn.

The arbitral tribunal is expected to issue its decisions on a number of the claims in the second quarter of 2022, the company said in a statement.

Details about the subsidiary, the project or who the case is against have not been disclosed. The company had first said about the case in May last year, with the claim amount at that time standing at about Dhs1.5bn.

Khalifa Hassan Al Hammadi, Union Properties chairman, confirmed that the company has put together a team of international experts from the Middle East, Hong Kong, Australia, the US, and the UK to work on the case.

“The team has exerted tremendous efforts to maximise the chances of the case being successful,” the statement said.

If the claim amount is granted, “it will be a significant win for Union Properties and its subsidiaries”, it added.

Al Hammadi confirmed that the management and its team will be working through the arbitration procedural timetable set by the tribunal.

Union Properties is the master developer of the Motor City project in Dubai as well as Green Community and Dubai Autodrome.

The developer recently announced a return to profit in the second quarter of this year following the implementation of a turnaround strategy last year.

The company announced that net profit for the three months ended June 2021 reached Dhs26.83m, compared to a loss of Dhs38.5m in Q2 last year.

Revenues during the quarter increased 19 per cent year-on-year to reach Dhs99m.

“During the second quarter of this year, we witnessed a significant positive shift in many business activities, genuine estate in the UAE in general and in Dubai in particular, which confirms that we are on track to overcome the adverse effects of the pandemic,” the company said in a statement at the time.