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With Dubai enjoying a sharp recovery in the tourism sector, Emaar Properties said yesterday it sold a hospitality asset in the emirate as part of its strategy to further develop its flagship hotel brand.
The company sold the Nuran Marina Hotel Apartments in the Dubai Marina area to Eshraq Properties, according to a bourse filing by the Abu Dhabi-based developer.
“As part of Emaar’s strategy to focus on further developing The Address Hotels + Resorts brand, the sale of Nuran Serviced Residences Dubai Marina was completed in the second quarter of 2012,” Emaar said in an emailed statement yesterday. It didn’t provide any other transaction details, but said it will continue to manage the serviced apartments.
Analysts at investment bank EFG Hermes reckoned the transaction does not signal plans for divestment of core hospitality assets of Emaar, saying the sale should be perceived as portfolio fine-tuning.
EFG viewed the hotel apartments as a non-strategic asset for Emaar, estimating that Nuran Marina’s contribution to the company’s hospitality top line does not exceed 5%.
Emaar in July said it plans to launch more projects at home to boost growth, after the developer more than doubled its profit in the second quarter to 614mn UAE dirhams ($167.3mn). Earlier this month it launched a hospitality project featuring a five-star hotel — The Address The BLVD — that includes serviced residences.
The company’s revenues in the last quarter rose 3% on year to Dh2.1bn and for the six-month period were 3.92bn dirhams, slightly down from the year before.