Changing hands in Cannes
Eight months after Lebanese investor Toufic Aboukhater bought a string of seven InterContinental Hotels in Europe from Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund, including the Carlton Hotel in Cannes, the same hotel has been sold to Qatari national Ghanim bin Saad al-Saad for $586 million, according to AFP. Starting in August 2012, the hotel will undergo previously planned renovations for a period of 10 months, its first major renovation since being established in 1911. In 2006, Morgan Stanley paid $826 million for the same portfolio. The December AFP report said the Qatari investor was also interested in other hotels belonging to the InterContinental chain, including those in Vienna, Rome and Madrid. In similar news, Saudi Arabian businessman Sheikh Mohamed bin Issa al-Jaber concluded a “100 percent equity” deal on December 14 to buy back the Scotsman Hotel Group, after it fell into the hands of creditors during a lengthy legal showdown with Standard Bank Group. The group accused him of reneging on $150 million worth of loans due but later settled out of court, in a deal that indirectly cost him a total of $1.55 billion, according to Jaber and reported by Arabian Business. Though the deal signed by Jaber’s hospitality firm, JJW Group, to buy the hotel properties out of administration was left undisclosed, Jaber’s December 15 statement said the hospitality firm would see an investment close to $100 million in 2012. The portfolio includes luxury hotels in Leeds, Edinburgh and Paris. Jaber’s MBI group originally bought the Scotsman Hotel Group, the hotel operator, for $98 million in 2006.
Red-hot healthcare
A partnership between Beirut’s Red House Group, a real estate investor, and Rizk Healthcare, has created the newly formed Rizk Red House Healthcare (RRHH) to deliver 10 hospitals in Saudi Arabia, a deal worth $1.35 billion. RRHH will work in partnership with the Saudi Arabian investment firm, Ebram, to complete the projects, which will see nearly 3,000 hospital beds added to the kingdom’s healthcare industry. “Today’s announcement of our partnership with Red House is a great example of how we continue to invest in the healthcare industry and of our commitment to provide healthcare services not only in Lebanon but also on the regional platform,” added Sami Rizk, chief executive officer of RRHH, which will be headquartered in Beirut with an office in Riyadh.
Lights on in Ajman
Originally announced in 2007, Al Zorah Development Company has re-launched its mixed-use tourism development, covering 5.4 million square meters in the northern emirate of Ajman in the United Arab Emirates. Solidere International, registered at the Dubai International Financial Centre, and the government of Ajman are behind the joint venture, with Sheikh Rashid bin Humeid al-Nuaimi as chairman of Al Zorah. The project’s strategy has been restructured so that 70 percent of the land area will have resorts or tourism-related entities on it, 14 percent will be for residences or mixed-use plots, while offices and retail will take up 7 and 6 percent of land area respectively. The project leaders said the first phase will see delivery of a five-star resort, as well as a luxury hotel, with 160 rooms and 300 rooms, respectively. A luxury golf course and a community of villas and townhouses will round out the first phase, which should be complete by 2014. Speaking at the launch, Al Zorah’s Chief Executive Officer Imad Dana said 1.2 billion dirham ($140 million) worth of contracts have already been issued, but confirmed that management is still deciding on international hotel operators. Infrastructure work has started and completion of the roads and the four marinas is due by 2012. The total project comprises five developments, with nearly 5,000 hotel rooms in total. Regarding financing, Solidere Chairman Nasser Chamaa said the project had enough cash to fund its first phase without resorting to bank finance, but admitted that paid-up capital for the venture had halved to $234 million.
Lebanese buy into London
Ireland’s National Asset Management Agency has reportedly sold a property in London to an unnamed Lebanese developer for a hefty sum. Regarding the plot on the Isle of Dogs, where a 62-storey apartment block was to be built, the Irish Independent newspaper said in a November 30 article that: “It has been bought by a Lebanese developer for around £50 million [$78 million],” without naming the developer. The agreement is part of four deals concerning London properties, which will generate some $117 million for the group. In related news, M1 group, a private investment firm based in Beirut, has made headlines in recent years for some of the largest property deals in the British capital. The group’s real estate arm, based in Monaco, bought Victoria House in Bloomsbury in 2010 for $295 million and Credit Suisse’s headquarters in Canary Wharf in 2009 for $242 million. A December 7 BBC article quoted M1’s Executive Director of Real Estate, Mustapha el-Solh, as saying: “The system in London is very investor-friendly with transparent legal structures… and it has fiscal benefits in terms of tax and capital gains which give it a certain advantage.”
Luxury still sells
Despite the political instability in the region in 2011, Dubai-based developer Damac said a third of its luxury apartments in its Beirut high-rise have sold. “In Lebanon, we mobilized the site in 2010, we launched in June 2010, and so far, although being a very premium project in an area which is still under a lot of political turmoil, our sales are very good,” said General Manager Ziad el-Chaar in a December 5 statement reported by Arabian Business. The 28-story Damac Tower, situated near the Phoenicia Hotel and featuring interior design by Italian fashion house Versace Interiors, is the first residential project in Lebanon for Dubai’s largest luxury homes builder. In Dubai, a number of Damac’s projects have stalled, though the firm has delivered 21 buildings in total. Speaking of those investors who bought off-plan in the Palm Springs residential project on the now-stalled offshore island, Chaar said: “We have offered them a full refund in staged payments [or] a lump sum [70 percent] immediate payment, which is unprecedented in the market.” He added that there are no plans to launch future projects in Dubai in the foreseeable future.
Kuwait teams up with REAL
In a December 11 workshop titled “Mechanism of Real Estate Investments in Lebanon,” Chairman of the Kuwait Real Estate Association Tawfiq al-Jarrah said Kuwaiti investments in the Lebanese real estate sector were growing steadily. The workshop was the first formal cooperation with the Real Estate Association of Lebanon (REAL), headed by Chairman Massaad Fares, since the Kuwaiti team signed a ‘cooperation protocol’ with the former in November to help “remove hurdles facing Kuwaiti businesses” in Lebanon, according to the Kuwait News Agency. REAL’s agreement means it will help register land plots bought by Kuwaiti businesses with the relevant Lebanese departments. In addition to legal and administrative council, the group will provide names of accredited companies, dealers, engineers, brokers and lawyers in Lebanon. In previous statements to Executive, Fares said the organization aims to promote reputable companies and eliminate or reduce the expanded number of non-professionals who enter the industry.
