Dubai’s Emirates REIT posts 15.3% surge in 2018 property income
Emirates REIT, the world’s largest Shari’a-compliant REIT, recorded a year-on-year total property income growth of 15.3 percent for one year ending December 31, 2018 to $69.9 million, said Equitativa, the largest REIT manager in the GCC.
The income growth was driven by a 35 per cent increase in annualized rent in Index Tower, it added.
Index Tower’s occupancy has now reached 50 per cent, a significant increase from 2017.
Following the acquisition of Lycée Français Jean Mermoz, a French curriculum school in Al Quoz, in the second quarter of 2018 and of three additional fully leased floors in Index Tower in December 2018, the Net Leaseable Area (NLA) for the period increased by 9.3 per cent to 223,192 m2 (2.4 million sq.ft.).
Focusing on future growth, these strategic acquisitions will help prepare for further increase in revenue in the coming years.
In the current challenging market, Emirates REIT recorded a 54.6 per cent drop in valuation gains due to a significant one-off provision on one of its assets.
In 2018, Emirates REIT’s asset value passed the $1 billion threshold for the first time, marking an increase of 6.4 per cent over the previous financial year.
Sylvain Vieujot, CEO of Equitativa, commented: “Emirates REIT continues to deliver promising results to its shareholders, despite a challenging real estate market. Our focus on maintaining a high-quality diversified portfolio of real assets, and on enhancing the REIT’s rental revenues and improving its operational efficiencies, have proven to be a successful strategy in these challenging times.”
Equitativa also reported that the Index Mall fit-out of the retail outlets is now completed and ready to open shortly, thereby connecting tenants and visitors to Index Tower directly to the DIFC’s Gate Avenue.
Source: Trade Arabia
