UAE-based property developer Union Properties has signed an AED360m ($98m) refinancing facility with Dubai Islamic Bank, as the company looks capitalise on the emirate’s growing real estate market.  

The financing will support the company’s new growth strategy. The firm has spent the past few years repaying debt accrued during the financial crisis and collapse of Dubai’s real estate sector in 2008-09.

A total of AED7bn worth of bank debt has been repaid by the property firm.

Union Properties, along with many other property firms, faced financial difficulties during 2008-09, resulting in irregular payments to contractors and delays to projects.

At the time the developer was working on now completed major construction projects in Dubai, including The Ritz-Carlton hotel and the Index Tower at the Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC).

First quarter results for the developer showed substantial growth in profits for the firm. Profits reached AED179.8m during the first three months of the year, compared to AED21.91m in the same time period in 2013.