Capital Gate tower, developed in Abu Dhabi by ADNEC (Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company). Photo courtesy ADNEC
Capital Gate tower, developed in Abu Dhabi by ADNEC (Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company). Photo courtesy ADNEC

Abu Dhabi's leaning tower begins hunt for international tenants



It is one of Abu Dhabi's most distinctive new properties but prestige will come at a price for tenants wanting to set up shop in the capital's leaning tower.

For prospective tenants in the Capital Gate, the curvaceous tower that leans at an angle of 18 degrees, will pay the highest rents in the Abu Dhabi starting at Dh2,500 (US$680.7) per square metre.

A broad marketing campaign is now beginning to lure in tenants to the 35-storey tower. Bill Lunt, Capital Gate director at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC) that built the tower, said the preference is for international companies that can help drive new business to Abu Dhabi's economy.

At yesterday's announced rates, a tenant taking up an entire floor could pay as much as Dh2.6 million a year. Floor sizes range from about 950 to 1050 square metres. Rupert Bowen-Jones, a senior surveyor for the property consultancy CB Richard Ellis, said those were the highest rates in Abu Dhabi.

Mr Lunt said that ADNEC would negotiate different terms with tenants, depending on the length of the lease and what they could bring to the building.

"The main priority is to drive business and focus on the destination of Abu Dhabi," he said. "International companies would add more value because they could drive or introduce new business, but we do look at local companies as well."

Average office rates in Abu Dhabi are about Dh2,000 per square metre, down from a peak of Dh3,800 per square metre in the final three months of 2008, according to Jones Lang Lasalle.

Abu Dhabi is approaching a stage where the major office and residential projects first launched in 2006, 2007 and 2008 are beginning to be delivered into the market. This is also coming at a time of uncertainty in the property sector, with demand for homes still at a low-point and office tenants waiting for rents to fall lower.

About 450,000 square metres of office space are expected to be added to the market this year, and another 1.4m square metres are expected before the end of 2013.

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Itcan profile

Founders: Mansour Althani and Abdullah Althani

Based: Business Bay, with offices in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and India

Sector: Technology, digital marketing and e-commerce

Size: 70 employees 

Revenue: On track to make Dh100 million in revenue this year since its 2015 launch

Funding: Self-funded to date

 

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
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  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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'Ashkal'
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The rules on fostering in the UAE

A foster couple or family must:

  • be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
  • not be younger than 25 years old
  • not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
  • be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
  • have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
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The specs: Lamborghini Aventador SVJ

Price, base: Dh1,731,672

Engine: 6.5-litre V12

Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic

Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm

Torque: 720Nm @ 6,750rpm

Fuel economy: 19.6L / 100km

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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013 

The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
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NO OTHER LAND

Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal

Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham

Rating: 3.5/5

2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups

Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.

Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.

Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.

Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.

Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.

Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.

Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.

Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.

 

Company: Instabug

Founded: 2013

Based: Egypt, Cairo

Sector: IT

Employees: 100

Stage: Series A

Investors: Flat6Labs, Accel, Y Combinator and angel investors

A MINECRAFT MOVIE

Director: Jared Hess

Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa

Rating: 3/5