UAE’s Equitativa, National Bonds, Al Hamra launch residential REIT

United Arab Emirates-based Equitativa Group, National Bonds, and Al Hamra Real Estate Development have launched the country’s first sharia-compliant residential real estate investment trust (REIT) with a seed portfolio worth AED 418 million.

This is the second REIT in the UAE after the Nasdaq Dubai-listed Emirates REIT, launched and managed by Equitativa, the Dubai-based company said in a statement on Sunday.

Al Hamra contributed 371 residential units consisting of a mix of apartments, duplexes, townhouses and villas located in the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah to the REIT, the statement said. The portfolio comprises 472,250 square feet of net leasable area.

Meanwhile, National Bonds contributed a building with 112 units comprising studio and one-bedroom apartments, located in Dubai’s Motor City.

The contributed properties are 95 percent occupied and have a total value of AED 418 million, the statement said.

The residential REIT is incorporated in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), and will distribute at least 80 percent of its net income to shareholders.

“Equitativa expects to raise further funds allowing the REIT to build up a large portfolio in order to prepare for an IPO,” the statement added.