Dubai real estate company Union Properties has confirmed it is planning to sell the Ritz Carlton hotel which is under development at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), as reported by MEED in October.

The sale of the Ritz Carlton is possible if an offer of about AED1.5bn ($408m) is made, according to a statement issued on 1 February.

Plans to sell the property were first being worked on in October 2009, at the same time as the company held talks with banks to reschedule a AED2.8bn syndicated loan (MEED 14:10:09).

The banks which financed that loan agreed to extend it after being offered a repayment guarantee from local bank Emirates NBD, which holds a 48 per cent stake in Union Properties. The loan is now due to be repaid in 2011. The Ritz Carlton hotel is scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2010.

In January, analysts at Credit Suisse reduced their price target for the firm’s shares to AED0.03 because of its debt levels.