Dubai Autodrome is the UAE’s first multi-purpose motorsports and entertainment facility and is located in Motor City. Courtesy Dubai Autodrome.
Dubai Autodrome is the UAE’s first multi-purpose motorsports and entertainment facility and is located in Motor City. Courtesy Dubai Autodrome.
Dubai Autodrome is the UAE’s first multi-purpose motorsports and entertainment facility and is located in Motor City. Courtesy Dubai Autodrome.
Dubai Autodrome is the UAE’s first multi-purpose motorsports and entertainment facility and is located in Motor City. Courtesy Dubai Autodrome.

Union Properties receives Dh400m bid for minority stake in Dubai Autodrome


Deepthi Nair
  • English
  • Arabic

Dubai developer Union Properties has received a Dh400 million offer to sell a 40 per cent stake in its subsidiary, Dubai Autodrome, the company said in a bourse filing on Thursday.

“We are working on studying the offer and it will be discussed in the upcoming meeting of the board ... to allow us to take the appropriate decision for the full benefit and interest of the company’s shareholders,” Khalifa Hasan Al Hammadi, chairman of Union Properties, said in a statement to the Dubai Financial Market, where its shares trade.

The company board, which is scheduled to meet on September 29, will also discuss the acquisition of real estate assets in the UAE worth Dh740m.

Dubai Autodrome, which is the UAE’s first multi-purpose motorsports and entertainment facility located in Motor City, is Union Properties' trophy asset. The subsidiary is 100 per cent owned by the developer and was established in 2004.

Mr Al Hammadi said Union Properties has a number of subsidiaries with “added value and works in vital sectors that achieve sustainable growth”.

“We are in the process of converting a number of those subsidiaries into private joint stock companies,” he added.

In August, the developer outlined it plans to list three of its subsidiaries on the DFM, as it reorganises its business to cut costs and improve its bottom line. Facilities management company ServeU; The FitOut, which specialises in interior fit-outs of offices, hotels and restaurants, and Dubai Autodrome are among the firms lined up for listing.

In August, Union Properties said it is looking for “suitable investment opportunities in various sectors, including the health and hospitality sectors” where it is assessing the right targets for acquisitions.

We are in the process of converting a number of those subsidiaries into private joint stock companies

Union Properties narrowed losses for the second-quarter by 54 per cent, on the back of cost-cutting measures. The group’s net loss for the three months ending June 30 reached Dh38.6m, compared with a Dh84m loss a year ago.

The company, whose projects include Motor City and Uptown Mirdif, reached an agreement with Emirates NBD in August to restructure an outstanding debt of Dh946m.

The developer also announced plans to start a new project, Motor City Hills, in Dubai overlooking Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road near Dubai Autodrome. The project includes 195 villas, 490 townhouses and six commercial land plots.

Union Properties has built more than 60,000 units in recent years across a number of projects in Dubai.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The stats

Ship name: MSC Bellissima

Ship class: Meraviglia Class

Delivery date: February 27, 2019

Gross tonnage: 171,598 GT

Passenger capacity: 5,686

Crew members: 1,536

Number of cabins: 2,217

Length: 315.3 metres

Maximum speed: 22.7 knots (42kph)

ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025, Thailand

UAE fixtures
May 9, v Malaysia
May 10, v Qatar
May 13, v Malaysia
May 15, v Qatar
May 18 and 19, semi-finals
May 20, final

The biog

Year of birth: 1988

Place of birth: Baghdad

Education: PhD student and co-researcher at Greifswald University, Germany

Hobbies: Ping Pong, swimming, reading

 

 

House-hunting

Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove

  1. Edinburgh, Scotland 
  2. Westminster, London 
  3. Camden, London 
  4. Glasgow, Scotland 
  5. Islington, London 
  6. Kensington and Chelsea, London 
  7. Highlands, Scotland 
  8. Argyll and Bute, Scotland 
  9. Fife, Scotland 
  10. Tower Hamlets, London 

 

The specs: 2018 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross

Price, base / as tested: Dh101,140 / Dh113,800


Engine: Turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder


Power: 148hp @ 5,500rpm


Torque: 250Nm @ 2,000rpm


Transmission: Eight-speed CVT


Fuel consumption, combined: 7.0L / 100km

Slow loris biog

From: Lonely Loris is a Sunda slow loris, one of nine species of the animal native to Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore

Status: Critically endangered, and listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list due to growing demand in the global exotic pet trade. It is one of the most popular primate species found at Indonesian pet markets

Likes: Sleeping, which they do for up to 18 hours a day. When they are awake, they like to eat fruit, insects, small birds and reptiles and some types of vegetation

Dislikes: Sunlight. Being a nocturnal animal, the slow loris wakes around sunset and is active throughout the night

Superpowers: His dangerous elbows. The slow loris’s doe eyes may make it look cute, but it is also deadly. The only known venomous primate, it hisses and clasps its paws and can produce a venom from its elbow that can cause anaphylactic shock and even death in humans

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The lowdown

Badla

Rating: 2.5/5

Produced by: Red Chillies, Azure Entertainment 

Director: Sujoy Ghosh

Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Amrita Singh, Tony Luke

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'Worse than a prison sentence'

Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.

“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.

“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.

“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.

“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.

“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”

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War and the virus
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
Joker: Folie a Deux

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson

Director: Todd Phillips 

Rating: 2/5