Middle Eastern investors are expected to remain active hotel buyers this year despite a weakening oil prices.
“Western Europe and the US will attract more and more Middle Eastern investors,” said Chiheb Ben Mahmoud, the head of hotels and hospitality for Middle East and Africa at JLL.
“Depending on their portfolios and investment styles and strategies, some other Middle Eastern investors will be interested by off-road ventures in newly emerging destinations with different risk return propositions.”
While the falling price of oil was widely expected to have an impact on international hotel acquisitions, it has not yet been felt.
“We are talking about the global capital market and it is affected by a large number of factors,” said Mr Ben Mahmoud.
Brent oil fell to about $47.47 per barrel last week from $96.97 a year ago. During the first half of this year, about $10 billion was spent by Middle East investors buying hotels in Europe and the United States, he said.
But some regional investors are looking to exit their hotel assets.Qatar-backed Katara Hospitality is in talks to sell the luxury hotel chain Fairmont, according to UK media reports last month.
Among the investors in FRHI Hotels and Resorts is Saudi prince Al Waleed bin Talal’s Kingdom Holding.
The hotel chain operates the Fairmont, Raffles and Swissôtel brands.
In May, the group opened the 252-room Fairmont Ajman. One of the potential buyers of Fairmont is InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), which is also eyeing Mövenpick, according to media reports.
IHG did not immediately return emails and FHRI said the reports were speculative.
JLL expects 2015 to be a bumper year for hotel transactions, according to Mr Ben Mahmoud.
The value of deals is expected to exceed US$65 billion, up by 15 per cent over last year’s volumes. Transaction volumes in the Americas could reach $34.5bn, followed by Europe, the Middle East and Africa at $24.7bn and Asia Pacific at $8.5bn, according to a JLL report in January. “Last year, Asian investors represented 43.2 per cent of the cross-border hotel transactions, and the flow of money from Asia into the mature markets of North America, Europe and Australia is anticipated to keep rising,” according to EY analysts.
This week, Katara Hospitality announced it would buy the 316-room The Westin Excelsior Rome from Starwood Hotels & Resorts for €222 million.
Katara has 35 properties in operation or under development worldwide, and expects to add 26 more by 2026.
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Confirmed bouts (more to be added)
Cory Sandhagen v Umar Nurmagomedov
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Michael Chiesa v Tony Ferguson
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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.
Company Profile
Company name: Namara
Started: June 2022
Founder: Mohammed Alnamara
Based: Dubai
Sector: Microfinance
Current number of staff: 16
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Family offices
OPINIONS ON PALESTINE & ISRAEL
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Revibe
Started: 2022
Founders: Hamza Iraqui and Abdessamad Ben Zakour
Based: UAE
Industry: Refurbished electronics
Funds raised so far: $10m
Investors: Flat6Labs, Resonance and various others
SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Dengue fever symptoms
High fever (40°C/104°F)
Severe headache
Pain behind the eyes
Muscle and joint pains
Nausea
Vomiting
Swollen glands
Rash
THE SPECS
Cadillac XT6 2020 Premium Luxury
Engine: 3.6L V-6
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 310hp
Torque: 367Nm
Price: Dh280,000
The biog
Favourite food: Tabbouleh, greek salad and sushi
Favourite TV show: That 70s Show
Favourite animal: Ferrets, they are smart, sensitive, playful and loving
Favourite holiday destination: Seychelles, my resolution for 2020 is to visit as many spiritual retreats and animal shelters across the world as I can
Name of first pet: Eddy, a Persian cat that showed up at our home
Favourite dog breed: I love them all - if I had to pick Yorkshire terrier for small dogs and St Bernard's for big
'The Alchemist's Euphoria'
Artist: Kasabian
Label: Columbia
Rating: 3/5
Crops that could be introduced to the UAE
1: Quinoa
2. Bathua
3. Amaranth
4. Pearl and finger millet
5. Sorghum
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
'The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey'
Rating: 3/5
Directors: Ramin Bahrani, Debbie Allen, Hanelle Culpepper, Guillermo Navarro
Writers: Walter Mosley
Stars: Samuel L Jackson, Dominique Fishback, Walton Goggins
BACK TO ALEXANDRIA
Director: Tamer Ruggli
Starring: Nadine Labaki, Fanny Ardant
Rating: 3.5/5
EMIRATES'S REVISED A350 DEPLOYMENT SCHEDULE
Edinburgh: November 4 (unchanged)
Bahrain: November 15 (from September 15); second daily service from January 1
Kuwait: November 15 (from September 16)
Mumbai: January 1 (from October 27)
Ahmedabad: January 1 (from October 27)
Colombo: January 2 (from January 1)
Muscat: March 1 (from December 1)
Lyon: March 1 (from December 1)
Bologna: March 1 (from December 1)
Source: Emirates
The Specs
Engine: 1.6-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 118hp
Torque: 149Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Price: From Dh61,500
On sale: Now
TOURNAMENT INFO
Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi
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
yallacompare profile
Date of launch: 2014
Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer
Based: Media City, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: 120 employees
Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)
