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21 June 2017
(Fifth paragraph updated to change FIVE Holdings quote to state that agreement with Viceroy Hotel and Resorts has "ceased", not "seized")
Dubai-based real estate development and hospitality group FIVE Holdings has dropped the Viceroy brand from its hotel projects in the United Arab Emirates, the company said on Tuesday.
FIVE Holdings, previously known as SKAI Holdings, said in a statement on Monday that it has established its own hospitality subsidiary called FIVE Hotels and Resorts that will operate four hotels and residences in Dubai by 2020.
“The total value of these projects will be 7.2 billion UAE dirhams ($2 billion),” Kabir Mulchandani, chairman and CEO of FIVE Holdings, said in a statement.
The projects include the company’s recently opened Viceroy Palm Jumeirah, which will now be called FIVE Palm Jumeirah Dubai.
FIVE Holdings said in a statement to Thomson Reuters Projects on Tuesday that its 30-year hotel management agreement with the Viceroy Hotel and Resorts for its Palm Jumeirah project has “ceased”. The $1 billion hotel and furnished residences project was announced in 2013 and was Viceroy’s first venture into the emirate of Dubai.
Mulchandani said in a 2013 interview with Arabian Business magazine that Viceroy was also one of its major investors and had purchased a substantial number of hotel rooms at the Palm Jumeirah project.
"We will comply with every contractual obligation on their investment," a FIVE spokesperson said in relation to Viceroy’s investments.
Five Holdings’ 1.28 billion UAE dirham Viceroy Dubai Jumeirah Village project has also be rebranded to FIVE Jumeirah Village Dubai, the developer said.
“We signed a non-binding term sheet, which has since expired,” the statement added.
In 2015, SKAI (now Five Holdings) said in a statement that it had signed a second management agreement with Viceroy for its 60-storey Jumeirah Village property, due to commence operations in 2018.
Five Holdings did not comment on the reason for the termination of the agreement but said that the establishment of its hospitality arm was driven by fair distribution of commercial benefits.
“We believe now is the right time to disrupt the hospitality industry,” Aloki Batra, CEO of FIVE Hospitality LLC, said in a statement on Monday. “The people who actually provide a hospitality experience never receive the real benefits while most of the commercial benefits are taken in most cases by operators. This needs to change. There needs to be a much more equitable distribution and we will be introducing this in our hospitality vertical immediately to ensure our philosophy is executed from the heart.”
A formal brand launch is scheduled for October, the company added.
Thomson Reuters Projects reported this month that FIVE Holdings launched a 2.1 billion UAE dirham real estate investment trust (REIT) and is also working on designs for projects worth a total of three billion dirhams. The company is expected to close financing one of its projects and the REIT in the coming weeks.
© Zawya 2017
(Fifth paragraph updated to change FIVE Holdings quote to state that agreement with Viceroy Hotel and Resorts has "ceased", not "seized")
Dubai-based real estate development and hospitality group FIVE Holdings has dropped the Viceroy brand from its hotel projects in the United Arab Emirates, the company said on Tuesday.
FIVE Holdings, previously known as SKAI Holdings, said in a statement on Monday that it has established its own hospitality subsidiary called FIVE Hotels and Resorts that will operate four hotels and residences in Dubai by 2020.
“The total value of these projects will be 7.2 billion UAE dirhams ($2 billion),” Kabir Mulchandani, chairman and CEO of FIVE Holdings, said in a statement.
The projects include the company’s recently opened Viceroy Palm Jumeirah, which will now be called FIVE Palm Jumeirah Dubai.
FIVE Holdings said in a statement to Thomson Reuters Projects on Tuesday that its 30-year hotel management agreement with the Viceroy Hotel and Resorts for its Palm Jumeirah project has “ceased”. The $1 billion hotel and furnished residences project was announced in 2013 and was Viceroy’s first venture into the emirate of Dubai.
Mulchandani said in a 2013 interview with Arabian Business magazine that Viceroy was also one of its major investors and had purchased a substantial number of hotel rooms at the Palm Jumeirah project.
"We will comply with every contractual obligation on their investment," a FIVE spokesperson said in relation to Viceroy’s investments.
Five Holdings’ 1.28 billion UAE dirham Viceroy Dubai Jumeirah Village project has also be rebranded to FIVE Jumeirah Village Dubai, the developer said.
“We signed a non-binding term sheet, which has since expired,” the statement added.
In 2015, SKAI (now Five Holdings) said in a statement that it had signed a second management agreement with Viceroy for its 60-storey Jumeirah Village property, due to commence operations in 2018.
Five Holdings did not comment on the reason for the termination of the agreement but said that the establishment of its hospitality arm was driven by fair distribution of commercial benefits.
“We believe now is the right time to disrupt the hospitality industry,” Aloki Batra, CEO of FIVE Hospitality LLC, said in a statement on Monday. “The people who actually provide a hospitality experience never receive the real benefits while most of the commercial benefits are taken in most cases by operators. This needs to change. There needs to be a much more equitable distribution and we will be introducing this in our hospitality vertical immediately to ensure our philosophy is executed from the heart.”
A formal brand launch is scheduled for October, the company added.
Thomson Reuters Projects reported this month that FIVE Holdings launched a 2.1 billion UAE dirham real estate investment trust (REIT) and is also working on designs for projects worth a total of three billion dirhams. The company is expected to close financing one of its projects and the REIT in the coming weeks.
© Zawya 2017
