Meraas Holding creates a retail JV with Brookfield

Dubai-based Meraas Holding and Canadian Brookfield Asset Management have announced a retail joint venture which is valued at $1.4 billion (5 billion dirhams). The joint venture will own and operate Meraas’ retail assets. It is unclear how much each entity holds in the joint venture.

The retail assets of Meraas include Dubai sites The Beach, City Walk, and La Mer. Meraas Group Chairman, Abdulla Al Habbai, said: “We are delighted to form this partnership with a leading asset manager such as Brookfield. We hope this is the start of a fruitful relationship that will contribute to delivering on the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to make Dubai the world’s leading investment destination whilst driving differentiation and innovation in the retail sector.”

The investment by the Canadian asset management firm is its debut investment in the retail sector. The Brookfield Property Group’s CEO Briann Kingston said that the group believes in the future of Dubai real estate market and is looking forward to work with Meraas to “create the leading retail player in regional market.”