Alpha Dhabi acquires stake in European luxury hospitality group Nammos

The deal, completed through a venture with Dubai's Monterock International, is expected to boost the UAE's lifestyle and premium hospitality sectors

Nammos counts its Dubai venue among its flagship locations, alongside Mykonos in Greece. Photo: Nammos

Alpha Dhabi, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi's International Holding Company, has acquired a stake in European luxury lifestyle group Nammos, boosting its portfolio in the hospitality and food and beverage industry.

The deal was completed through a joint venture with Dubai's Monterock International.

The partnership is expected to support the global expansion plans of Nammos, as well as boost the UAE's lifestyle and luxury hospitality sectors, Alpha Dhabi said on Thursday in a filing to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where its shares are traded.

The terms and value of the deal were not disclosed.

The acquisition continues Alpha Dhabi's run of sustained expansion and investment opportunities, which are driving new revenue streams and creating greater shareholder value, said Hamad Al Ameri, the holding company's chief executive and managing director of Alpha Dhabi.

“We see strong potential for the expansion of our platform into the F&B and wider lifestyle space, both of which are markets with strong fundamentals globally driven by the return to travel and leisure post-Covid-19,” he said.

“Our expansion into this space confirms of our ambition to assemble a portfolio of leading luxury and lifestyle brands and we are excited to embark on this journey with Monterock.”

Nammos counts its Dubai location — which opened in 2019 — among its flagship venues, alongside Mykonos in Greece.

It already has venues in Doha and Limassol, according to its website, and will open locations in Abu Dhabi, Cannes and London “soon”, the bourse filing said.

Alpha Dhabi's long-term investment and global expansion strategy is aimed at diversifying its portfolio to deliver strong investor returns, and the company has forged a number of acquisition to realise its goals.

Among its most recent and notable moves are increasing its stake in Aldar Properties to become the parent company of the Abu Dhabi-based developer, and the acquisition of a 25 per cent stake in oil and gas engineering company Gordon Technologies for Dh602 million ($164 million).

Meanwhile, luxury destinations are among the attractions of the UAE's tourism sector, a vital pillar of the nation's economy.

Last month, the government announced a national tourism strategy that seeks to attract 40 million hotel guests by 2031 and draw Dh100 billion in tourism investment to the Emirates.

Dubai welcomed about 8.1 million international visitors in the first seven months of 2022, an increase of about threefold from a year ago and surpassing the total for 2021, Dubai Economy and Tourism said in September.

The emirate, whose tourism sector has recovered significantly in the post-Covid era, hosted 7.28 million visitors in 2021.

Alpha Dhabi and Monterock will continue to explore more investment opportunities beyond the F&B sector, with both companies seeking to build a bigger portfolio to put them at the forefront of lifestyle, luxury, hospitality and entertainment projects, the filing said.

Petros Stathis, chairman of Monterock International, said the joint venture would position the business for increased growth in the coming years and “we look forward to working together with Alpha Dhabi Holding as we begin our journey to create the world’s leading hospitality and F&B projects”.

The joint venture intends to explore further opportunities through the newly set up F&B business line as it seeks to increase its allocation across the sector and aspires to be the partner of choice to leading lifestyle and F&B brands.

Alpha Dhabi, which was previously known as Trojan Holding, has grown into a regional conglomerate. It was listed on the ADX in June 2021, and has been on an expansion spree since then, tapping into a number of industries, including Elon Musk's SpaceX.

In October, the company reported a Dh6.79 billion net profit for the first nine months of 2022, a more than threefold jump compared with a year ago, with revenue more than doubling during the period.

Monterock, a private equity holding company, has more than 25 years of experience in key global markets and is also involved in media, property, finance, industrial technology and the green energy sectors.