Emirates Palace has signed a sponsorship agreement with Robert Rock, the winner of the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, who beat rival Tiger Woods at last month's tournament to clinch the biggest win of his career.
The landmark Abu Dhabi hotel's two-year deal with the champion golfer - whose nickname is Rocky - will involve a shirt sponsorship and associations with some events.
Anita Cremer, the director of sales and marketing at Emirates Palace, said the sponsorship agreement was designed to promote the hotel to a younger, trendier audience.
She said the association with the golfer marked the first international sponsorship signed by the hotel, which cost about US$3 billion (Dh11bn) to build. "We want to reach the younger … hipper 40-year-old. At that age people may not think of Emirates Palace," said Ms Cremer.
"Emirates Palace should be a little trendier … With associations with Robert, I think that may prompt some new ideas in people's minds," she added. "He's a young guy, representing a very hip and good-looking generation."
The sponsorship deal was hastily arranged following Rock's victory over his sporting hero Tiger Woods in Abu Dhabi.
The British golfer also triumphed over Rory McIlroy - who himself has a sponsorship deal with Jumeirah Group, a Dubai-based rival of Kempinski, which manages the Emirates Palace.
The hotel initiated the sponsorship discussions with Rock, and the contract was agreed to this week.
The golfing star is also playing at this week's Dubai Desert Classic competition.
Ms Cremer declined to specify the value of the deal. "We want to have the contract for two years, and then see how we progress together," she said.
Rock said that he was also looking at the possibility of setting up a golf academy in the UAE, similar to an initiative he has launched in the UK. "I've started golf academies at home, and I'd like to be able to develop that in this region," he said. "I'd love to do it in Abu Dhabi … We're trying to work out what would be the best way to take it forward."
The golfer said staying at the luxurious Emirates Palace was a somewhat different experience to the hotels he used earlier in his career.
While on tour in the late 1990s, the golfer even had to share a room while staying in the northern English town of Blackpool, a seaside resort known for its faded grandeur. That was not quite a five-star experience. "I can remember once staying in an apartment in Blackpool … which I shared with three friends," he said. "That was slightly different — there were bunkbeds involved."
[ bflanagan@thenational.ae ]
STAGE 4 RESULTS
1 Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 4:51:51
2 David Dekker (NED) Team Jumbo-Visma
3 Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal
4 Elia Viviani (ITA) Cofidis
5 Matteo Moschetti (ITA) Trek-Segafredo
General Classification
1 Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 12:50:21
2 Adam Yates (GBR) Teamn Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:43
3 Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:03
4 Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:43
5 Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
How to invest in gold
Investors can tap into the gold price by purchasing physical jewellery, coins and even gold bars, but these need to be stored safely and possibly insured.
A cheaper and more straightforward way to benefit from gold price growth is to buy an exchange-traded fund (ETF).
Most advisers suggest sticking to “physical” ETFs. These hold actual gold bullion, bars and coins in a vault on investors’ behalf. Others do not hold gold but use derivatives to track the price instead, adding an extra layer of risk. The two biggest physical gold ETFs are SPDR Gold Trust and iShares Gold Trust.
Another way to invest in gold’s success is to buy gold mining stocks, but Mr Gravier says this brings added risks and can be more volatile. “They have a serious downside potential should the price consolidate.”
Mr Kyprianou says gold and gold miners are two different asset classes. “One is a commodity and the other is a company stock, which means they behave differently.”
Mining companies are a business, susceptible to other market forces, such as worker availability, health and safety, strikes, debt levels, and so on. “These have nothing to do with gold at all. It means that some companies will survive, others won’t.”
By contrast, when gold is mined, it just sits in a vault. “It doesn’t even rust, which means it retains its value,” Mr Kyprianou says.
You may already have exposure to gold miners in your portfolio, say, through an international ETF or actively managed mutual fund.
You could spread this risk with an actively managed fund that invests in a spread of gold miners, with the best known being BlackRock Gold & General. It is up an incredible 55 per cent over the past year, and 240 per cent over five years. As always, past performance is no guide to the future.
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Confirmed bouts (more to be added)
Cory Sandhagen v Umar Nurmagomedov
Nick Diaz v Vicente Luque
Michael Chiesa v Tony Ferguson
Deiveson Figueiredo v Marlon Vera
Mackenzie Dern v Loopy Godinez
Tickets for the August 3 Fight Night, held in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, went on sale earlier this month, through www.etihadarena.ae and www.ticketmaster.ae.
The specs: Lamborghini Aventador SVJ
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Engine: 6.5-litre V12
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
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Company profile
Company name: Xare
Started: January 18, 2021
Founders: Padmini Gupta, Milind Singh, Mandeep Singh
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Funds Raised: $10 million
Current number of staff: 28
Investment stage: undisclosed
Investors: MS&AD Ventures, Middle East Venture Partners, Astra Amco, the Dubai International Financial Centre, Fintech Fund, 500 Startups, Khwarizmi Ventures, and Phoenician Funds
2017 RESULTS: FRENCH VOTERS IN UK
First round
Emmanuel Macron: 51.1%
Francois Fillon: 24.2%
Jean-Luc Melenchon: 11.8%
Benoit Hamon: 7.0%
Marine Le Pen: 2.9%
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Emmanuel Macron: 95.1%
Marine Le Pen: 4.9%
SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
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J Street Polling Results
97% of Jewish-Americans are concerned about the rise in anti-Semitism
76% of US Jewish voters believe Donald Trump and his allies in the Republican Party are responsible for a rise in anti-Semitism
74% of American Jews agreed that “Trump and the Maga movement are a threat to Jews in America"
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0-100km/h: 3.0sec
Top speed: 330kph
Price: From Dh1.14 million ($311,000)
On sale: Now