Get ready to party “billionaire” style in Saudi Arabia.
Italian entertainment mogul and former Formula One team executive Flavio Briatore is bringing his successful nightclub-turned-theatre restaurant brand Billionaire to the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh in January.
The venue, which is currently being constructed, will be the brand’s biggest in terms of size, and will serve as the crown jewel of Briatore’s burgeoning Saudi portfolio, which will also include Italian-Japanese fusion restaurant Twiga, set to open next year.
"It will be so much larger in Saudi Arabia with a keen focus on the food," he tells The National. "For one thing, it will have a 20-metre grill, which is the largest I've ever seen, and there will be live performances in terms of music and acrobatics in the future."
While opening an entertainment venue during the pandemic is risky, Billionaire’s expansion into Saudi Arabia comes off the back of a winning formula hatched in Italy and perfected in the UAE.
With more than two decades of running Billionaire under his belt, expanding it from its original home in Sardinia, Italy, to the Spanish city Marbella, before landing in Dubai in 2016, Briatore immediately realised the unfolding pandemic would be a game changer for the entertainment scene.
"Everyone was put out of work. Theatre companies and clubs closed down,” he says. “I had to sit down and rethink everything. Business is about adaptation and flexibility."
Briatore, 70, may be talking business, but it is a viewpoint honed from another career. One even more risky and highly charged.
Life in the fast lane
As a former manager of Benetton and Renault's Formula One racing teams, and the man largely credited with discovering German driving legend Michael Schumacher, Briatore credits his stints in the paddocks for his ability to both analyse and anticipate.
“At the end of the day, in racing, what you are really selling is not a car but a product,” he says. “So to be successful in the market you have to be quick and make the necessary adjustments when needed.”
In June, Briatore decided to apply the monkey wrench to Billionaire Porto Cervo in Sardinia, parking the nightclub concept indefinitely.
The dance floor, trodden upon by a host of celebrities including Naomi Campbell, Paris Hilton, P Diddy and Jude Law, made way for dinner tables, while the DJ booth was replaced with an opulent stage.
The move to a "dinner show" concept, Briatore explains, was down to mixture of practicality and opportunity. After ensuring he built a safe place for patrons, he recruited a number of acclaimed performers, all of whom were suddenly unemployed because of the pandemic.
"We managed to get people from Cirque du Soleil and other big companies because they were available," he says. "With the right team we managed to do something amazing, a mix of dinner and a circus."
An evening of song and dance
Buoyed by the reception in Italy, Briatore brought the concept to the Dubai venue when it reopened in October.
When The National visited earlier this month, the venue resembled more of a cabaret show, with lush velvet theatre curtains, dim romantic lighting and tables filled with couples and small groups of friends. The four-hour programme is split between nearly a dozen 10-minute performances, ranging from song covers and tango and salsa displays, to an eye-popping acrobatic performance by the duo Destiny.
The time in between is for indulging in a sophisticated sharing menu that fuses Italian with Asian influences.
"Everything from the show to the menu reflects Dubai because it is the centre of everything. You are six hours from Europe and close to Asia," Briatore says. "Everything is easy here, from the travel to the good weather."
'It's always about the people'
That said, Briatore is aware the city can attract unscrupulous operators. The reason many clubs don't last, generally, he says, is the relentless focus on the bottom line.
“At the end of the day you are dealing with people and everybody needs to be on the same page,” he says.
“I don’t believe in someone being a VIP. When you walk into my club, everyone is the same. The most important person in the club, for me, is the waiter. They bring the energy and set the tone of place and it is they who talk to the customers first. Running a club is like having a family, there needs to be respect with each other.”
It’s a responsibility Briatore takes even more seriously today, considering the emotional turmoil caused by Covid-19.
“We are creating a space for people to be happy,” he says. “People want to go out and see each other, so we want to do it in a safe way. My favourite part of my job is seeing people’s eyes light up when the show begins. There is a smile and that feeling of being connected and in the moment.”
Billionaire Dubai is located in the Taj Dubai, Business Bay. Doors open 9pm with shows and dinner beginning 10pm. Bookings can be made at billionairesociety.com
How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
Jiu-jitsu calendar of events for 2017-2018:
August 5:
Round-1 of the President’s Cup in Al Ain.
August 11-13:
Asian Championship in Vietnam.
September 8-9:
Ajman International.
September 16-17
Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, Ashgabat.
September 22-24:
IJJF Balkan Junior Open, Montenegro.
September 23-24:
Grand Slam Los Angeles.
September 29:
Round-1 Mother of The Nation Cup.
October 13-14:
Al Ain U18 International.
September 20-21:
Al Ain International.
November 3:
Round-2 Mother of The National Cup.
November 4:
Round-2 President’s Cup.
November 10-12:
Grand Slam Rio de Janeiro.
November 24-26:
World Championship, Columbia.
November 30:
World Beach Championship, Columbia.
December 8-9:
Dubai International.
December 23:
Round-3 President’s Cup, Sharjah.
January 12-13:
Grand Slam Abu Dhabi.
January 26-27:
Fujairah International.
February 3:
Round-4 President’s Cup, Al Dhafra.
February 16-17:
Ras Al Khaimah International.
February 23-24:
The Challenge Championship.
March 10-11:
Grand Slam London.
March 16:
Final Round – Mother of The Nation.
March 17:
Final Round – President’s Cup.
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The lowdown
Badla
Rating: 2.5/5
Produced by: Red Chillies, Azure Entertainment
Director: Sujoy Ghosh
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Amrita Singh, Tony Luke
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
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What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
Brown/Black belt finals
3pm: 49kg female: Mayssa Bastos (BRA) v Thamires Aquino (BRA)
3.07pm: 56kg male: Hiago George (BRA) v Carlos Alberto da Silva (BRA)
3.14pm: 55kg female: Amal Amjahid (BEL) v Bianca Basilio (BRA)
3.21pm: 62kg male: Gabriel de Sousa (BRA) v Joao Miyao (BRA)
3.28pm: 62kg female: Beatriz Mesquita (BRA) v Ffion Davies (GBR)
3.35pm: 69kg male: Isaac Doederlein (BRA) v Paulo Miyao (BRA)
3.42pm: 70kg female: Thamara Silva (BRA) v Alessandra Moss (AUS)
3.49pm: 77kg male: Oliver Lovell (GBR) v Tommy Langarkar (NOR)
3.56pm: 85kg male: Faisal Al Ketbi (UAE) v Rudson Mateus Teles (BRA)
4.03pm: 90kg female: Claire-France Thevenon (FRA) v Gabreili Passanha (BRA)
4.10pm: 94kg male: Adam Wardzinski (POL) v Kaynan Duarte (BRA)
4.17pm: 110kg male: Yahia Mansoor Al Hammadi (UAE) v Joao Rocha (BRA
LOVE%20AGAIN
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COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
Tips for SMEs to cope
- Adapt your business model. Make changes that are future-proof to the new normal
- Make sure you have an online presence
- Open communication with suppliers, especially if they are international. Look for local suppliers to avoid delivery delays
- Open communication with customers to see how they are coping and be flexible about extending terms, etc
Courtesy: Craig Moore, founder and CEO of Beehive, which provides term finance and working capital finance to SMEs. Only SMEs that have been trading for two years are eligible for funding from Beehive.
