Beyond The News : Issue 1

Trendwatch: Wellness-inspired living

‘Athlon’, our latest project in Dubai, sold out in 48 hours generating AED 4.1 billion in sales - our highest ever at a development launch. Designed for active living, Athlon features parks, trails, and tracks for jogging, cycling, roller-skating, functional training and more. Wellness is fast becoming an essential consideration for homebuyers, with people increasingly motivated to live in communities that enhance individual wellbeing.

The success of The Source at Saadiyat Grove, Haven in Dubai, and now Athlon, is a testament to that. At Athlon, 70% of buyers intend to occupy their units, the highest number of owner-occupiers we have observed at our residential development launches in the past year. This mirrors the trend seen at Haven, our first wellness-inspired development in Dubai, where 65% of buyers intend to occupy their units.

From longevity to high-tech health, global wellness trends are influencing more overseas buyers to invest in developments that align with their passions. At Athlon, the leading international buyers are from India (25%), China (8%), and Jordan (7%), further highlighting Dubai as a global destination of choice for investment and relocation.

Financing the transition

Our second USD 500 million green sukuk issued in May 2024 was met with strong interest and demand from a diverse pool of investors worldwide. Oversubscribed by four times, it was the tightest re-offer spread ever achieved by Aldar in the Debt Capital Markets.

The geographical distribution of investors was diverse, with 80% coming from the MENA region, 14% from Europe, and 5% from Asia. By investor type, the majority were banks and private banks at 66%, followed by fund managers at 33%.

The net proceeds from this issuance, as with our inaugural green sukuk, will be allocated in line with Aldar’s Green Finance Framework. This framework defines our investments in financing or re-financing projects such as green certified buildings, property upgrades to improve energy efficiency, sustainable water management, and renewable energy.

Reducing emissions in construction?

As we work towards reducing the carbon intensity of our construction projects, we are actively expanding the use of solar energy thanks to our partnership with?Enerwhere, a leading energy solutions company that specialises in?decarbonising?operations through the use of solar hybrid technologies.

Together, we're currently tripling our solar capacity at Saadiyat Grove by installing panels on the rooftops of the site offices and on the car park shades. This is projected to produce around 350 MWh/year reducing our carbon emissions on this project by more than 20%.

Empowering talent to thrive

Every Aldar employee now has access to Talent Hub, an AI-powered platform where our people unlock their potential through personalised learning and development opportunities.

From LinkedIn to MIT, the platform opens up a world of over 20,000 courses to redefine how we learn and grow together at Aldar. Talent Hub provides a truly tailored experience for each person, complete with personalised objective setting and individual development plans to simplify and streamline career development.

Celebrating growth with our partners

Motivational powerhouse Tony Robbins and cricket icon Rohit Sharma joined us for the 7th edition of Aldar Experts, which brings together over 5,000 brokers and partners. Thanks to close collaboration, together we celebrated an increase in annual commission paid to brokers in the UAE, rising to AED 365 million in 2023.

With group sales reaching AED 6.3 billion in the first quarter of 2024, we are confident of another fruitful year for our broker network.

Who should we invite to speak at our next Aldar Experts event?

Join our journey

Stay connected with us through upcoming editions of Beyond The News. There is much more to come.