The address of this property claims it is located in Arabian Ranches, but it is technically down the road a little bit.
However, it has an exclusivity all of its own.
While the Ranches has carved out a niche for itself as Emaar’s suburban development inhabited by firmly middle-class types, Emaar’s Polo Homes development is located behind the Dubai Polo Equestrian Club on Al Qudra Road.
This K-Type villa has an asking price of Dh16.4 million, a figure justified by it’s 18,000 square foot plot and views over the vast green fields of the polo club – a view often accompanied by the muffled gallop of horses.
Officially opened in April 2006, the club now offers a gym, pool, restaurants, bars, spa, stables and vets. Situated next to Studio City, it sits opposite Arabian Ranches 1 and 2, which has a golf course and new communities springing up – almost daily – around it.
Polo Homes is made up of 71 villas surrounding the two polo fields.
The villa, which has been extended to more than 8,000 sq ft of modified built-up area, sits in a quiet cul de sac. It has six bedrooms, five of them en suite, and is decorated in a neutral style with white walls.
Downstairs, a large open living area with a huge German Hakka-designed kitchen and Miele appliances flows into a big family/entertaining area, a large dinning room, study, two en suite bedrooms, a guest powder room, laundry and maid’s room.
Upstairs, there are three en suite bedrooms and a large extended master suite all finished with Bagno Design and German Home bathroom suites and imported Spanish flooring.
The exterior is as sumptuous as the interior – open the by-folding doors on to the private plot and you’ll find an outdoor entertainment area with a large swimming pool, Jacuzzi, sunken seating area, bespoke BBQ and bar area, and a large sunbathing and lawn space. The villa is also close to the infinity community pool and park area.
Q&A:
Luke Jones, luxury sales director for Luxhabitat, the agent marketing the Dh16.4m property, tells Andrew Scott more about the villa:
What is the reason for buying this villa?
For a start it’s an Emaar development, which means the No 1 Dubai government developer has built and developed the community. It is a sub-set of Arabian Ranches which is a self-sufficient community which very few other communities, at this level, can claim. One has access to schools, golf clubs, mosques, gyms, bars and restaurants. The Ranches is one of the most established areas in Dubai and that, with the exclusivity of these villas, means you are buying into more than just a villa. Of course there are also the polo fields on your doorstep which no other development can lay claim to.
Dh16.4 million sounds expensive for a desert villa community.
It is expensive but it’s not at the top-end of prices for villas; the top end is from Dh30m to Dh50m. With the Polo villas, Emaar allowed customers to buy the shell and core – the outer walls and the roof - of the units and develop the interior themselves. That means that every villa is unique and has been finished in varying degrees of opulence.
Who is the seller?
No one has ever lived in this villa, it was bought by an investor and has been on the market for six months. The property market has been slow for the past 18 months therefore it is very much a buyer’s market out there and there is a disconnect between the asking price and the transaction price.
ascott@thenational.ae
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England's lowest Test innings
- 45 v Australia in Sydney, January 28, 1887
- 46 v West Indies in Port of Spain, March 25, 1994
- 51 v West Indies in Kingston, February 4, 2009
- 52 v Australia at The Oval, August 14, 1948
- 53 v Australia at Lord's, July 16, 1888
- 58 v New Zealand in Auckland, March 22, 2018
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tottenham v Ajax, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Ajax v Tottenham, Wednesday, May 8, 11pm
Games on BeIN Sports
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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.”
Company%20Profile
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The%C2%A0specs%20
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RESULTS
Lightweight (female)
Sara El Bakkali bt Anisha Kadka
Bantamweight
Mohammed Adil Al Debi bt Moaz Abdelgawad
Welterweight
Amir Boureslan bt Mahmoud Zanouny
Featherweight
Mohammed Al Katheeri bt Abrorbek Madaminbekov
Super featherweight
Ibrahem Bilal bt Emad Arafa
Middleweight
Ahmed Abdolaziz bt Imad Essassi
Bantamweight (female)
Ilham Bourakkadi bt Milena Martinou
Welterweight
Mohamed Mardi bt Noureddine El Agouti
Middleweight
Nabil Ouach bt Ymad Atrous
Welterweight
Nouredine Samir bt Marlon Ribeiro
Super welterweight
Brad Stanton bt Mohamed El Boukhari
The%20specs
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Company profile
Name: Tratok Portal
Founded: 2017
Based: UAE
Sector: Travel & tourism
Size: 36 employees
Funding: Privately funded
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
Brief scores
Barcelona 2
Pique 36', Alena 87'
Villarreal 0
Graduated from the American University of Sharjah
She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters
Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks
Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
Day 1 results:
Open Men (bonus points in brackets)
New Zealand 125 (1) beat UAE 111 (3)
India 111 (4) beat Singapore 75 (0)
South Africa 66 (2) beat Sri Lanka 57 (2)
Australia 126 (4) beat Malaysia -16 (0)
Open Women
New Zealand 64 (2) beat South Africa 57 (2)
England 69 (3) beat UAE 63 (1)
Australia 124 (4) beat UAE 23 (0)
New Zealand 74 (2) beat England 55 (2)