Aldar Properties, the biggest developer in Abu Dhabi by market value, has bought Rixos Bab Al Bahr hotel in Ras Al Khaimah in a Dh770 million ($210m) deal as it continues to expand its portfolio of hospitality and leisure investments in the UAE.
The acquisition of the 715-room hotel that opened its doors in 2014 was made by Aldar Investment — the company's second investment in the emirate this year, it said in a statement to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where its shares are traded.
“The acquisition adds further scale to Aldar Investment’s growing hospitality and leisure portfolio and will bring its total investment in Ras Al Khaimah to Dh1.5 billion, including the earlier acquisition of Al Hamra Mall and additional development rights at both properties,” the company said.
RAK Hospitality Holding, an integrated hospitality and leisure company that owns and operates hospitality and leisure assets, separately confirmed the sale of Rixos Bab Al Bahr to Aldar Investment through its subsidiary RAK National Hotels.
Last year, Aldar adopted a new group operating model and organised its business into two segments. Aldar Investment is responsible for managing its Dh22bn portfolio of recurring income assets, including its hospitality portfolio, while Aldar Development is responsible for building the company's 75 million square metre land bank.
“The acquisition is underpinned by the tremendous potential of the emirate as a tourist hub, our robust asset management capabilities, as well as the strong operating fundamentals and mature nature of the asset itself,” Jassem Busaibe, chief executive at Aldar Investment, said.
“In addition to the transaction being value and yield-accretive to our recurring-income generating portfolio, it allows us to build further scale and enhance diversification, which is a key tenet of our strategy going forward.”
As part of the deal, Aldar Investment has also secured development rights for an additional 250,000 square feet for residential and commercial use, it said, without giving details of further development plans.
“Aldar’s investment in the emirate contributes to enhancing the hospitality experiences for our tourists and residents, adding to the emirate’s destination appeal,” Alison Grinnell, chief executive of RAK Hospitality Holding, said in a separate statement.
In February, Aldar bought Al Hamra Mall in a $111.6m deal, its first transaction outside Abu Dhabi, and said it plans to further expand its footprint in Ras Al Khaimah.
The company, through its investment platform, is assessing opportunities to invest more capital into new geographies and property types as part of an overarching growth strategy, the company said at the time.
The Abu Dhabi-based company is also increasing investments outside the country. Last year, a consortium of Aldar Properties and one of the region’s biggest holding companies, ADQ, acquired a majority stake in Egypt’s Sixth of October for Development and Investment Company for 6.1bn Egyptian pounds ($386.8m).
The value of mergers and acquisitions in the Mena region surged 57 per cent to reach $109.1bn last year. The total number of deals also jumped 40 per cent annually to reach 1,141, the highest annual total recorded since 1980, according to a report by Refinitiv.
Aldar reported a 21 per cent jump in its full-year 2021 profit to Dh2.3bn, as revenue rose 2 per cent annually to about Dh8.6bn on record property sales amid the continued recovery of the UAE’s property market.
The specs: 2018 Nissan Altima
Price, base / as tested: Dh78,000 / Dh97,650
Engine: 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder
Power: 182hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 244Nm @ 4,000rpm
Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder turbo
Transmission: CVT
Power: 170bhp
Torque: 220Nm
Price: Dh98,900
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
EMILY%20IN%20PARIS%3A%20SEASON%203
%3Cp%3ECreated%20by%3A%20Darren%20Star%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Lily%20Collins%2C%20Philippine%20Leroy-Beaulieu%2C%20Ashley%20Park%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%202.75%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Director: Romany Saad
Starring: Mirfat Amin, Boumi Fouad and Tariq Al Ibyari
Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
Honeymoonish
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Elie%20El%20Samaan%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENour%20Al%20Ghandour%2C%20Mahmoud%20Boushahri%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Results
5pm: Al Maha Stables – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m; Winner: Reem Baynounah, Fernando Jara (jockey), Mohamed Daggash (trainer)
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: AF Afham, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Emirates Fillies Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Ghallieah, Sebastien Martino, Jean-Claude Pecout
6.30pm: Emirates Colts Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Yas Xmnsor, Saif Al Balushi, Khalifa Al Neyadi
7pm: The President’s Cup – Group 1 (PA) Dh2,500,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Somoud, Adrie de Vries, Jean de Roualle
7.30pm: The President’s Cup – Listed (TB) Dh380,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Haqeeqy, Dane O’Neill, John Hyde.
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Captain Marvel
Director: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
Starring: Brie Larson, Samuel L Jackson, Jude Law, Ben Mendelsohn
4/5 stars
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels