Property consultant Cavendish Maxwell has been jointly mandated by Souq Extra LLC for the sale of the Souq Extra community retail centre located in Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO).

The center was acquired by a NASDAQ-listed investor for approximately $57.2m in December last year, with its Phase 1 closing at $22.8m.

Andrew Love, head of Investment and Commercial Agency at Cavendish Maxwell, said: “This disposal represents a turning point in the UAE real estate investment sector and demonstrates the continued demand for quality, income-producing real estate assets. The acquisition by a real estate investment trust is testament to the quality of the asset, its diversified income stream and its location within an extremely strong catchment area.”

Launched in January 2017 by Souq Extra, a UAE retail and mixed-use property developer and manager, Phase 1 of the community retail centre has 36,000sqft of gross leasable area comprising 42 retail units fully let to blue-chip tenants, including Carrefour Market, KFC, McDonald’s and Starbucks.

“All rental income is guaranteed for two years. Phase 2 of the Souq Extra DSO development comprises a 55,000sqft expansion and will be delivered by Q2 2019,” added Love.

Commenting on the sale, Ben Ganley, CEO, Souq Extra, said: “Central to the ever-evolving Souq Extra culture is a commitment to ‘Winning Behaviours’ based on respect, performance and teamwork. We are delighted with the financial close achieved by our advisory, legal and internal teams, who collectively delivered a year-end transaction that builds on a successful 10-year track record for Souq Extra and its prominent individual and sovereign investors.”