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28 March 2024

Goodman Sorouh plans Abu Dhabi project

Published
By Parag Deulgaonkar

(SALEM KHAMIS)   

   


Goodman Sorouh, a joint venture specialising in development and management of business and logistics parks, is planning to announce its first project in Abu Dhabi before year-end, a senior company official said.

“We will announce our first development this year and it will be in Abu Dhabi. We are looking for opportunities across the UAE and in other Gulf Co-operation Council countries,” Richard Draycott, general manager of Goodman Sorouh, told Emirates Business.

The company is scouting for land on the outskirts of the city, or close to infrastructure projects such as ports for its logistics park, while the business parks will be set up near office or residential locations.

“We will apply the same strategy elsewhere in the region,” Draycott said.

He, however, declined to give specifics about the Abu Dhabi project, or the number of parks planned across the GCC countries. “Both companies are listed on their respective stock exchanges and as such investment decisions will be considered on a case-by-case basis and subject to approval of the board of each entity,” he said.

According to Draycott, the company is not ruling out joint ventures with other firms to gain access to land in other GCC markets. It is also in discussion with different parties on the development of property solutions in the region.

“We are not competing on price, but what we are looking to deliver is quality,” he said when asked about competition from other companies in region.

ProLogis, an industrial real estate investment trust, and Bahrain-based Islamic investment bank Arcapita Bank have agreed to start a venture to develop warehouses in the Gulf, while Dubai has already launched a logistics city and investment parks.

Goodman Sorouh is a fifty-fifty joint venture between Abu Dhabi-based Sorouh Real Estate and Australian integrated global industrial property conglomerate, Goodman Group.

Draycott ruled out plans to list the joint venture, emphasising that the ownership structure was not expected to change in the short to medium term.

Goodman Group has operations in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Europe and the United Kingdom. It invests in business parks, office parks, industrial estates and warehouse, and offers a range of listed and unlisted property funds, giving investors access to specialist services and property assets.