Mubadala waives second-quarter rent for retail tenants at Galleria Mall
The real estate and infrastructure unit of Mubadala Investment Company waived second-quarter rents for retail tenants at Abu Dhabi’s Galleria Mall to cushion the blow of the coronavirus pandemic.
Mubadala, Abu Dhabi’s strategic investment arm, yesterday said qualifying tenants had been granted a rent-free period from April to June this year.
The company had earlier introduced relief measures worth Dh420 million, out of which Dh70m was allocated to commercial tenants on Al Maryah Island, in the form of rent relief and deferrals.
“We are committed to supporting our partners and tenants, and in line with recent updates with the Covid-19 outbreak in the UAE, we have established various tactics to maintain business continuity,” Ali Al Mheiri, executive director of real estate and infrastructure at Mubadala, said.
“We have considered various strategies and invested in solutions for our valued partners so that together, we overcome the challenges head on.”
Last week, Mubadala said it would provide its commercial tenants at Abu Dhabi Global Market Square on Al Maryah Island with rent deferrals to ease the negative effects of Covid-19.
Malls and restaurants across the UAE were closed in March to enforce social distancing rules and contain the spread of the pandemic, resulting in lost revenue.
However, the government and state-linked developers introduced several initiatives to help mitigate the impact on the retail and hospitality sectors through rent deferrals and other forms of economic support.
Earlier this month, the Abu Dhabi government said it would offer annual rent rebates of up to 20 per cent to restaurants, cafeterias and takeaways to help them cope.
Meanwhile, the emirate’s biggest listed developer, Aldar Properties, said it is increasing the size of its support package to property, education and retail customers to Dh190m to help them through the crisis.