Dubai: Decoding Deyaar's turnaround process

Deyaar, one of the biggest private realtors in the UAE, recently announced its first dividend distribution, as the company managed to turn itself around, riding on the current boom in the country’s real estate.

“This transformation is the result of our team’s hard work for the past years, addressing many legacy and business matters to enable the company to become one of the key players in the Dubai real estate market,” Hani Fansa, chief operating & transformation officer at Deyaar, told Khaleej Times in an interview.

The UAE property market remains firmly in expansion mode. According to estimates by Statista, the real estate market in the UAE is anticipated to reach a staggering value of $710 billion by the end of 2024, and within this market, the residential real estate segment reigns supreme, projected to hold a market volume of $410 billion. Similarly, as per the UAE Real Estate Market overview published by JLL MENA earlier this year, the UAE real estate sector will continue to record robust growth across all major asset classes.

Post Covid, Deyaar addressed the need to restructure its capital and eliminate the accumulated losses that were carried over for years. It also finalised an Dh500 million settlement with a government entity to close a chapter full of legal battles. “Most importantly, Deyaar also realised the need to increase its development activities, which resulted in launching world-class flagship projects across major market segments that offer premium value, location, and service,” Fansa said.

Deyaar witnessed significant growth in revenues and net profit, with revenues reaching Dh1.254 billion, an increase of 56 per cent compared to the previous year. Profit soared 206 per cent to reach Dh441 million.

Buoyed by the results, Deyaar’s board of directors has recommended distributing a four per cent of the share capital as dividend for the first time in the company’s history. “With a strong business model and strategic initiatives in place, Deyaar is now well-positioned to embark on a new chapter of growth and continued success, further propelled by this momentous milestone. A robust pipeline of projects across our real estate development and other services will ensure that Deyaar continues to play a leading role in the dynamic real estate sector of Dubai and the UAE,” Fansa said.

Deyaar launched a number of new projects in the recent past. Its luxury project Mar Casa – a seafront residential destination at Dubai Maritime City valued at Dh1.1 billion – was sold out in record time. “We also introduced the final residential community, Jannat, at our flagship project, Midtown, broke ground at Mar Casa to officially start its construction work, and successfully handed over the Mesk and Noor residential communities at Midtown ahead of their scheduled timeline,” Fansa said.

Deyaar also expanded its hospitality portfolio with the launch of Millennium Talia Residences, luxurious hotel apartments operated by Millennium Hotels & Resorts. Deyaar also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Arady Properties with the aim of establishing a joint development project at Al Reem Island in Abu Dhabi. “In addition, we continued to focus on project delivery to maintain our track record of delivering projects on time or even ahead of schedule,” Fansa said.

The year 2024 has started with a bang for Deyaar, as it revealed the details of ELEVE, a community project in downtown Jebel Ali. It also announced the launch of Rosalia Residences, the developer’s third project in Al Furjan, out of a total project portfolio worth Dh300 million.

Fansa remains bullish about the country’s real estate. “The UAE’s property market is growing and maturing rapidly, supported by robust demand, dynamic government policies, healthy economic growth, and a global interest in the market. Looking at the future, this growth will only become stronger and feed into the government’s strategic implementation of business-friendly policies, visa reforms, high-end infrastructure, and technology landscape, and a world-class lifestyle that has put the UAE at the center of global attention for foreign investments and entrepreneurship. As one of the UAE’s leading developers, Deyaar is poised to play a pivotal role in this growth, creating world-class sustainable communities of the future backed by our in-depth market intelligence, world-class services, and unrivalled property management support,” Fansa said.

• Business