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.

AIR
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBen%20Affleck%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMatt%20Damon%2C%20Jason%20Bateman%2C%20Ben%20Affleck%2C%20Viola%20Davis%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south

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While you're here
How to apply for a drone permit
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What are the regulations?
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Timeline

2012-2015

The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East

May 2017

The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts

September 2021

Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act

October 2021

Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence 

December 2024

Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group

May 2025

The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan

July 2025

The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan

August 2025

Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision

October 2025

Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange

November 2025

180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE

COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEjari%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERiyadh%2C%20Saudi%20Arabia%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EYazeed%20Al%20Shamsi%2C%20Fahad%20Albedah%2C%20Mohammed%20Alkhelewy%20and%20Khalid%20Almunif%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPropTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETotal%20funding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%241%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESanabil%20500%20Mena%2C%20Hambro%20Perks'%20Oryx%20Fund%20and%20angel%20investors%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E8%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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Veere di Wedding
Dir: Shashanka Ghosh
Starring: Kareena Kapoo-Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Swara Bhaskar and Shikha Talsania ​​​​​​​
Verdict: 4 Stars

England's all-time record goalscorers:
Wayne Rooney 53
Bobby Charlton 49
Gary Lineker 48
Jimmy Greaves 44
Michael Owen 40
Tom Finney 30
Nat Lofthouse 30
Alan Shearer 30
Viv Woodward 29
Frank Lampard 29

Kandahar%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ric%20Roman%20Waugh%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EGerard%20Butler%2C%20Navid%20Negahban%2C%20Ali%20Fazal%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Tamkeen's offering
  • Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
  • Option 2: 50% across three years
  • Option 3: 30% across five years 
MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League quarter-final second leg:

Juventus 1 Ajax 2

Ajax advance 3-2 on aggregate

Match info:

Wolves 1
Boly (57')

Manchester City 1
Laporte (69')

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Facility’s Versatility

Between the start of the 2020 IPL on September 20, and the end of the Pakistan Super League this coming Thursday, the Zayed Cricket Stadium has had an unprecedented amount of traffic.
Never before has a ground in this country – or perhaps anywhere in the world – had such a volume of major-match cricket.
And yet scoring has remained high, and Abu Dhabi has seen some classic encounters in every format of the game.
 
October 18, IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders tied with Sunrisers Hyderabad
The two playoff-chasing sides put on 163 apiece, before Kolkata went on to win the Super Over
 
January 8, ODI, UAE beat Ireland by six wickets
A century by CP Rizwan underpinned one of UAE’s greatest ever wins, as they chased 270 to win with an over to spare
 
February 6, T10, Northern Warriors beat Delhi Bulls by eight wickets
The final of the T10 was chiefly memorable for a ferocious over of fast bowling from Fidel Edwards to Nicholas Pooran
 
March 14, Test, Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by six wickets
Eleven wickets for Rashid Khan, 1,305 runs scored in five days, and a last session finish
 
June 17, PSL, Islamabad United beat Peshawar Zalmi by 15 runs
Usman Khawaja scored a hundred as Islamabad posted the highest score ever by a Pakistan team in T20 cricket

Indika
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2011%20Bit%20Studios%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Odd%20Meter%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsole%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PlayStation%205%2C%20PC%20and%20Xbox%20series%20X%2FS%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Dust and sand storms compared

Sand storm

  • Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
  • Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
  • Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
  • Travel distance: Limited 
  • Source: Open desert areas with strong winds

Dust storm

  • Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
  • Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
  • Duration: Can linger for days
  • Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
  • Source: Can be carried from distant regions

Director: Shady Ali
Cast: Boumi Fouad , Mohamed Tharout and Hisham Ismael
Rating: 3/5

Correspondents

By Tim Murphy

(Grove Press)

Company profile

Name: Steppi

Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic

Launched: February 2020

Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year

Employees: Five

Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai

Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings

Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year

EMILY%20IN%20PARIS%3A%20SEASON%203
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