39 minute read
AWARDS
INNOVATION IN FACILITIES MANAGEMENT 2022 AWARDS
TECH PARTNER
Innovation in Facilities Management Awards 2022 is one of the leading events applauding the achievements of the region’s facilities management professionals. 26 winners and 16 Highly commended were awarded at Sofitel Dubai the Palm. The awards strive to recognise individual excellence, corporate strengths, projects, technology and innovation success. Companies were invited to nominate the people, projects, and initiatives of which they are most proud of, across 26 categories.
FM COMPANY OF THE YEAR
EJADAH
Over the last couple of years end users have realized how much they rely on FM teams to keep the facilities going and supporting them when crisis hits. Ejadah leadership thrives to reflect pioneering leadership, adaptability, and responsiveness during the pandemic and that continued during the new normal of 2021 and in 2022, where Ejadah focused to put our clients’ facilities and communities safely and operationally to full occupancy levels as pandemic restrictions eased. In 2005, Ejadah became the first FM brainchild of the Dubai Holding Group. Today, Ejadah consists of three operating verticals that span all segments of the FM cycle- Idama (Facilities Management), Arkan (Security Management) and Shabaka (Unit Services). And then Ejadah position itself as a forefront of the facilities management industry specializing in both simple and complex projects across the Middle East. Through its operating entities, Ejadah delivers total community solution to commercial, residential, retail, and mixeduse developments in the UAE. With 14,000+ colleagues and over 1,400 contracts managing over 160m Sqmt of land area, making Ejadah one of the leading FM providers of the region.
TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION IN FM
SERVEU
“We are delighted and honoured to receive the Technology and Innovation Award in recognition of our years of work and service in the industry. We would like to thank the organizers of Innovation in FM awards and the industry for acknowledging our journey and exceptional services by nominating us for this prestigious award. As one of UAE’s leading facility management organisations, we have given high priority to provide top-quality maintenance, engineering, cleaning, and ancillary services that fulfil the requirements of our clients. Our strategy of maintaining a perfect balance between technology and human assets, streamlining and regulating the maintenance, along with a quick response process, enables us to offer seamless services. Receiving this award is a great motivation for us as we commit to a better performance and will continue to offer top quality FM solutions. We are enthusiastic to provide best solutions, which stems from our perspective that technology can change the inevitable. Technology inspires innovation, and innovations create better and enhanced FM services and cost-effective operations. Through this achievement, we look forward towards better growth and expansion opportunities in the future.”
Gary Reader, GM at ServeU
SANITATION AND WASTE MANAGEMENT COMPANY OF THE YEAR
IMDAAD
Imdaad is the Middle East’s leading Integrated Facility Management Company. It is a founding member of the Middle East Facilities Management Association (MEFMA) and employs a multi-cultural workforce of over 6,000 skilled workers from 37 countries. Imdaad’s Sanitation and Waste Management services has 33+ years of experience and offers a full range of sustainable solutions Whilst Imdaad offers waste management to all industries, they recognize that certain industries and segments have specific requirements. Imdaad are proud to have developed market leading solutions to address these requirements in the Healthcare, Construction and Property Management sectors. Imdaad is trusted by many communities, buildings, shopping centers, hotels, retail outlets, theme parks, commercial developments, and mixed-use projects. Imdaad provide customised municipal solid waste management for these clients, planned, and arranged to avoid disrupting their operations whilst keeping them compliant and safe.
HSE INTIATIVE OF THE YEAR
ENOVA | HSE APP
EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR
ACCIONA FACILITY SERVICES | A STEP (ACCIONA SUPERVISORY TALENTS EXCELLENCE PROGRAM)
YOUNG FACILITIES MANAGER OF THE YEAR
AMEERA AL AMERI | KHANSAHEB FACILITIES MANAGEMENT
FACILITIES MANAGER OF THE YEAR
ABDULGAFOOR DURUG | FARNEK
ENGINEERING SERVICE OF THE YEAR
ADEEB GROUP
CLEANING COMPANY OF THE YEAR
ISNAAD (IMDAAD)
INNOVATIVE FM COMAPNY OF THE YEAR
EFS FACILITIES SERVICES GROUP
Integrated facilities management provider EFS Facilities Services Group (EFS) has started 2022 on a high note by announcing its financial results for the first financial quarter of 2022. The people-first organization amassed strategic contract wins worth AED 1.2 billion in the first quarter, strengthening its leadership position within the industry and reinforcing the Group’s ethical business practices recognition. The recent contract awards include a mega soft services contract for Jeddah Airport and multiple iconic projects in UAE, Saudi, and others in the Group’s GCC operations. For EFS technology preparedness is an important factor to reckon with, as technology has its scalability limitations, and the company can come to a standstill if the choice of technology is not implemented correctly. The various new systems and applications are quickly changing the FM executive’s routines with more productive outcomes. For instance, the new age CAFM systems and mobile apps are helping executives and field teams to monitor live operations through dashboards and webcams. These provide critical information to manage off-site supervision and surveillance through live dashboards during the COVID crisis. Its compliances have pushed the industry to think beyond and align FM in express technology mode. Despite the market downturn and being 10% over the budget, EFS was able to retain 100% employees with zero deductions and also create more job opportunities, offer sustainable service delivery, as well as develop technology integration along with proactive client and staff engagement.
VISIONARY LEADER OF THE YEAR
MOHAMAD ABOU LABAN, CEO | DEYAAR FACILITIES MANAGEMENT
With more than twenty years of experience working in the GCC’s facilities management industry, Mohamad held senior positions in various local and multinational organisations. He is known for his passion towards his customers and the service quality delivered to them. Mohamad has a proven track record in implementing international best practices, improving safety standards, increasing profitability, and driving efficiency. For the past four years, Mohamad has held the position of CEO at Deyaar Facilities Management and is also the recipient of CEO of the Year 2021 by CBNME. Under his leadership, Deyaar FM has seen an increase focus on staff productivity and moving forward with its technological ambitions to improve the services Deyaar can offer. Deyaar FM recorded a 60% increase in manpower for the year 2021 achieving an 18% overall business growth where it signed 29 new contracts.
SUSTAINABLE INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR
BK GULF FACILITIES MANAGEMENT | IMPLEMENTING SUSTAINABLE ACTIONS TO MAKE JA BEACH HOTEL ENERGY-EFFICIENT
During the past few years, BK Gulf Facilities Management (BKG FM) has undertaken several major energy saving retro-fit projects, in line with the Emirates Supreme Council of Energy plans to cut carbon emissions by 30% by the end of 2030, as part of the UAE’s efforts to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. One of these projects, completed in the past 12 months, has been a major energy retrofit at the iconic award-winning JA Beach Hotel at JA The Resort, one of the oldest hotels in UAE. Our client, JA Resorts and Hotels (JA) is an international, award winning hotel operator with a portfolio of world-class 5 stars hotels in the UAE, Maldives and the Seychelles. The group was established in the late 1970s with an ambitious vision to be recognized as the leading provider of unique getaway experiences in remarkable locations around the Indian Ocean and in key global destinations. Being appointed as the TFM service provider for JA Resorts and Hotels, BKG FM’s objectives also covered the facility condition, system reliability, energy efficiency, water efficiency, waste management, indoor environmental quality. The energy savings because the retrofit cut electricity costs by AED 475,000 annually, while guests can benefit from more efficiently functioning rooms. This results in a significant positive impact on the hotels sustainability drive to reduce its carbon footprint and waste, to meet modern and future building standards.
MANPOWER SERVICE PROVIDER OF THE YEAR
EJADAH
WORKPLACE OF THE YEAR
EJADAH
CEO OF THE YEAR
MOHAMMAD ABDUL KARIM KHAMIS, CEO | EMIRATES NATIONAL
FACILITIES MANAGEMENT (ENFM)
Mohammad Abdul Karim Khamis is a young Emirati from Dubai and one of the visionaries, energetic and respected facilities management experts in the UAE marketplace. His 15 years of journey in the industry with both govt. and private sectors has driven with leading innovation and business excellence activities focusing in launching the innovative ideas and cost-effective solutions leaving positive impact on end users. Presently manages EnFM covering all the functions. He reports to the board and responsible for the strategic growth of the business in UAE. EnFM has witnessed highest growth in terms financials and overall organizational development ensuring the progressive customer satisfaction with increase in confidence with its clients. EnFM has won 20 contracts by entering energy, oil and gas sectors. Further, inhouse service delivery capability has been increased with addition of delivering of engineering solutions, chillers, and façade cleaning divisions.
SECURITY COMPANY OF THE YEAR
TRANSGUARD GROUP
With more than 15,000 certified and trained employees, Transguard Security is the UAE’s largest, most established and widely recognised security provider in the country. With all personnel qualified under SIRA and/ or PSCOD/ASSD, Transguard is tasked with protecting an impressive list of clients, key landmarks and attractions all over the UAE.
FM CONSULTANCY OF THE YEAR
EJADAH
PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR
Tony Martin, appointed as CEO at Al Bonian Facilities Management (ABFM) in July 2018 has been working in senior roles in the region since January 2008 starting out at BK Gulf, QBG FM and Idama to now ABFM. Tony put emphasis on personal progression and the building of all aspects FM to the ABFM team, ensuring that training was funded, and individuals had the opportunity to learn and progress their careers. ABFM in the previous 12 months driven by the leadership of Tony, have been extremely successful in contracts wins and retention. 2021, was an extremely challenging period, and as such, proactive strategies and measures had to be aggressively implemented to ensure business continuity, and progression toward and into 2022. Tony has brought to ABFM, focus, a desire to be successful, deliver quality services and grow exponentially within the region. Leading by example and showing his team that anything is possible. Even though the competition is either global funded or nationally led FM organisations, do not let this intimidate. Use this in the quest, and fuel for success. 2022, is proving to be under the leadership of Tony Martin, a very exciting and successful year for ABFM in its continued growth within the region. The company under the stewardship of Tony for these past 4 years has quadrupled its revenue, showing healthy profits, continued success and increasing of its portfolio with some very highprofile clients.
SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS PROVIDER OF THE YEAR
FACILIO
“We are delighted that Facilio was recognised as the Software Solution Provider of the Year at the Innovation in FM awards 2022. It is a testament to our leadership and drive to innovate in this space. The recognition comes at a pivotal point in our journey, as we front-end the movement towards data-driven property operations and shape the future of facilities management. At Facilio, we believe the future belongs to buildings that become operationally digitalnative. To make this a reality, we need an innovative approach to connect people, processes & systems so that real estate owners managing large portfolios gain real-time visibility & control over the O&M process. Facilio’s product is built to realize this vision.” Prabhu Ramachandran, Founder & CEO, Facilio Inc.
CLIENT - CONTRACTOR PARTNERSHIP OF THE YEAR
AL BONIAN FACILITIES MANAGEMENT
HARD SERVICE PROVIDER OF THE YEAR
SERVEU FACILITIES MANAGEMENT
WOMAN PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR
JAVERIA AIJAZ | FARNEK
INNOVATIVE LEADER OF THE YEAR
TARIQ CHAUHAN, GROUP CEO | EFS FACILITIES SERVICES GROUP
Tariq Chauhan is a Harvard alumnus, entrepreneur, and well-known Indian businessman. He is the CEO and Cofounder of EFS Group, a visionary leader in the industry, having built EFS in less than a decade from 100 million to crossing a billion in revenues. Mr Chauhan is also wellacclaimed as a thought-leader, writer, columnist and visionary in global facilities management. Tariq’s work in FM and Business Prudence is well acknowledged. He has authored over 100 articles in various publications, including his regular columns in UAE Major dailies. Tariq is among the Top CEOs ranked in 2021 by Forbes Middle East and the Top 5 Indian Executives in the Forbes Ranking from 2014 to 2019. He is ranked 12th by Construction Business News amongst the Top Business Leaders. He was awarded the Industry Leader of the Year 2020 by Innovation in Construction & FM Awards and ranked second in Construction Business News FM Power 30 (2021). Tariq is relentlessly working to build the case of upskilling in the FM industry and raising the bar in built environments and workplaces. He has set new benchmarks in facilities management through quality service delivery, people initiatives and innovation.
OFFICE DESIGN & BUILD PARTNER YOU CAN RELY ON.
At Havelock One Interiors, we understand that every workplace strategy is unique and needs to be differentiated with an inspiring space having a seamless experience to match the brand vision. If you are planning to refurbish or fit-out your office, our interior design specialists can guide you with the ideal design vision for your business to thrive. As a superior fit-out contracting and manufacturing services company, our technical expertise, our resources, facilities and our collaborative approach allow for the best possible implementation of your workplace, regardless the circumstances.
SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR
CMS GLOBAL
CMS - Century Mechanical Systems Company is a 40-year-old company in UAE, spread across globally. CMS as a group has been involved in the HVAC industry for over fifteen years. With its innovative high performance air filters one can improve the IAQ by upgrading the air filtration of a building and at the same time with such a low pressure drop, the energy consumption can be reduced drastically. This helps in reducing the overall carbon footprint of a building.
“Elated to be recognized as the Smart Building Solutions Provider of the Year by CBNME, a respected media house reporting on the real estate industry. This award comes as Netix continues its aggressive global expansion, having made a foray into key markets such as the Netherlands, Italy, Croatia, Singapore, India & Americas. Our smart building platform, developed on a use case with leading developer Emaar, has gained meteoric traction in the last four years. By providing practical solutions to systemic challenges in buildings, Netix has catered to sectors as diverse as hospitality and aviation. On behalf of the Netix family, I thank CBNME for recognizing our impact and furthering our cause of driving the Middle East’s smart building revolution.” Sanjeevv Bhatia, Chairman of SB Group & CEO of Netix Global
SMART BUILDING SOLUTIONS PROVIDER OF THE YEAR
NETIX
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
JAMAL ABDULLA LOOTAH, GROUP CEO | IMDAAD
Jamal Abdulla Lootah is an accomplished business leader, widely hailed for establishing their organization as a regional powerhouse and a premium facilities management brand. Jamal has led the company to a phenomenal rise and has set the benchmark of quality services and efficiency across the Middle East, constantly expanding the scope of its services, and dramatically growing its prestigious client base. A big believer in innovation and foreseeing change, Jamal is a lifelong learner who reads extensively about past and present business and technology leaders like Steve Jobs and Jack Welch. A father of seven children and a frequent participant in local marathons and equestrian adventures, Lootah enjoys spending quality time with his family, and is an avid fan of classic cars, Arabian horses, and motorcycles. Lootah was previously the Director of Human Resources and General Administration at Dubai World, a global investment company launched in 2006 with more than 50,000 employees in over 100 cities and a revenue of US$18 billion (2008), Lootah started his career with the Security Department of Dubai Port Authority and is highly renowned for his outstanding leadership style, excellent administrative skills, and the ability to build and maintain a company culture with a 95+% employee satisfaction rate. Inspired by the “Be Number One” approach of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Lootah’s unwavering focus on excellence through diversification and a personalized business model, has led to Imdaad winning several prominent industry awards and recognitions.
REAL/ESTATE
Opposite page, left to right: Madhav Dhar, Co-founder & COO of Zazen Properties Atif Rahman, Founder & chairman of Oro24 Developments Amira Sajwani, General Manager – Sales and Development of DAMAC Properties Raja Alameddine, CEO of Lootah Real Estate Development.
CBNME conducted its third Real Estate Giants roundtable at Jumeirah Emirates Towers. We spoke to Atif Rahman - ORO24 Developments, Amira Sajwani - DAMAC Properties; Raja Alameddine - Lootah Real Estate Development; Madhav Dhar - ZaZEN Properties on a variety of topics. The real estate market has seen a exponential boom since the start of Expo 2020. According to JLL, over 40,000 expected residential units will be handed over by the end of 2022, showcasing the emirate’s strong and resilient sector, especially with how it was able to bounce back from the pandemic two years ago. The number of Dubai residential units in total, including apartments and villas, has been reported to be at a total of 657,000 on March 31st, 2022 with the expected delivery of 42,000 additional residential units by the end of the year. The supply of completed residential units is based on quarterly surveys of the entire Abu Dhabi and Dubai metropolitan areas that reflect units that have been handed over for immediate occupation, with the expectation for the year ahead being another successful one with continuous increase in demand, transaction volume and new project launches. Property Finder also reported that following the conclusion of Expo 2020, 6,983 real estate sales transactions worth AED 18.2 billion were recorded in April, the highest ever for the month since 2009. Secondary market sales transactions, comprising 60% of the total, constituted 4,212 transactions worth AED 12.86 billion, while off-plan properties, comprising the remaining 40%, constituted 2,771 properties worth a total of AED 5.33 billion. Compared to April 2021, April 2022 witnessed 45.48% more transactions, resulting in a 66.62% spike in value. This is broken down into a 46.2% increase in the secondary volume and a 63.86% increase in value, as well as a 44% increase in off-plan sales transactions and a 73.68% increase in value. As a result of the growing market Jochebed Menon and Kasun Illankoon sat down sat down with leading real estate developers to discuss real estate trends, sustainability practices both in construction sites and within their own organizations, and the rise of the affordable luxury market in the UAE.
Atif Rahman
Founder & Chairman | Oro24 Developments
REAL ESTATE TRENDS It’s a globally known fact that the Dubai economy is the first to bounce back after any crisis. And the performance of the Dubai real estate market is the talk of the entire world. On that note, it is important to recall and applaud what the government has done over the last decade and a half – the kind of trade liberalisation, immigration reforms, and the sort of crisis management during the pandemic has increased the global ranking and investor confidence in Dubai and the emirate’s real estate market.
Hosting the Expo in the aftermath of the pandemic was the best proof of Dubai’s resilience. Opening in October 2021, I doubt any other country would have the ability to put together and pull off such a global event with more than 24 million visitors. Many countries had still not received their first round of vaccination in October 2021, but Dubai was leaps and bounds ahead with the completion of four rounds of vaccination, efficiently handled the crisis and attracted the world to Expo 2020 Dubai.
Dubai has created a belief system – not just for the region but for the whole world – that you can recover from the biggest disasters efficiently. The city’s real estate has picked up quite well in the past decade or so – even more so post pandemic. You could literally launch anything in Dubai’s real estate market today and it is immediately sold out. It sells like hot cakes. I think it’s here to stay, and it’s because of these reasons.
It’s not a sentiment, it’s a belief that is driving the real estate market. It is strongly regulated, and back by government policies and wise leadership.
TORINO is a modern Gated Community located in Arjan, close to Miracle Garden, off the popular Umm Suqeim Road. The project comprises of contemporary homes with unique conveniences of modern living, along with a host of posh amenities.
TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT What I’ve believed in and implemented over the last 21 years of my career is extensive importance to training and knowledge development within the workforce. It’s not just making statements, it’s our reality – your employee is your real capital. The most premium asset an organisation has is its workforce. You can come up with a vision, you can spend on marketing; but ultimately it boils down to them to execute it and implement it. The smarter, the more educated the workforce is the faster the results are delivered in a more efficient manner. Furthermore, it results in retention. Invariably people stick around with a company not just for financial gains but also for intellectual gains.
At Oro24, we have implemented a mandatory 10-day training course for every new employee irrespective of the department they join. I’m not a believer of hire and fire policies. Once we select a candidate its about how we can work together to uplift each other. What is a company? A company is nothing without its staff. They are the people who implement a company’s strategies and who deliver the results. When a company incorporates such a practice it brings a higher level of expertise within an organisation. I want my Salespeople to understand the technicalities of a project, not just the Engineering department which consists of the Project Management team, the Tender & Contracts team, the Procurement team, and the Interior Design and Architecture team – all these teams need to be in sync so a project we’re all working together on runs smoothly.
The more you create your organization into a knowledge database, the more you focus on implementing training programmes, I think it converts your company into a strong workforce in a short span of time.
Training and education lead to knowledge which is the biggest asset an organisation can have.
TORINO is a unique project providing residents a rare combination of comfortable internal space and lavish outdoor living, packaged in modern architecture with sustainability at its core.
AFFORDABLE LUXURY The mid-income sector is the backbone of any economy like the SME or MSME is in the corporate world. We have to the understand the economics of the real estate and construction business. It is very simple – the cost of the land, construction, utilities, conveyancing, and profit margin – add these together and you’ll get the value of a project. Margin is the only thing that is directly under the control of the developer. When a market matures everyone operates on an optimised margin. With regards to land costs – its not as costly in Dubai as it should be because of the quality of infrastructure. But the challenge is land availability – good quality land is not that easily available. When you look at the overall mathematics of any real estate project, the highest outlay is towards construction.
There is very little you can do in terms of optimising construction costs at the top - if you segregate the costs of construction there are three portions – the structure, MEP and finishes. The structure depends on the land you’ve purchased and the kind of project you’re building. If it’s a high rise, the structure costs increase. With mid- and low-rise buildings, the structure costs can be controlled, MEP costs depend on many factors such as the level of modern innovations.
Finishes depends on the aesthetics and the ambiance the developer is looking to create. The supply chain, suppliers, and sub-contractors all these factors contribute to quality of finishes and cost of the total project.
Another factor is that one can buy the best materials and have the best designs but if the execution isn’t right, or the contracting partners aren’t right which means they don’t have the correct experience or skilled manpower to execute it – the project is bound to fail and be a disaster.
By default, Dubai has a different level of standard for everything whether it be restaurants, airlines, or hotels, the overall lifestyle here is quite upscale. I think affordable luxury is a key segment of the real estate market.
An acknowledged expert and thought leader in the Real Estate & Construction industry, Atif Rahman is a sought-after name for sustainable development and innovative financial engineering in the real estate sector. A multi-awarded and recognised entrepreneur; Atif Rahman is credited with initiating a renaissance in the property development market by bringing unique modular strategies of providing “real estate solutions for all” thus fulfilling the dreams of millions of owning a property in Dubai. Under his stellar stewardship, his previous ventures have achieved success in a short span of time making him a leader of property development in the region. He comes with two decades of pioneering experience in successful Real Estate Development across Residential, Commercial and Hotel & Serviced Apartment sectors. With an unblemished track record, he has carved a brand name for himself and has established harmonious relationships with key stakeholders across Government entities, High Net Worth individuals and financial markets. His robust experience and expertise in land procurement, world class project design, successful sale & marketing campaigns, and most importantly, timely delivery with quality construction puts him on a unique platform helping him run the property development business 360 degrees. An “on the toes” thinker and solution provider, he envisages to create a surreal and dynamic real estate market that will be the hallmark of innovation, growth, resilience and sustainability.
Amira Sajwani
General Manager – Sales and Development | DAMAC Properties
REAL ESTATE TRENDS The real estate industry in Dubai has shifted – back in 2008-09 the type of investments that were happening in the city were different than what we see today. Back in those days when the regulations weren’t as clear and there were speculations about Dubai and this bubble, there were many people who wanted to make a quick buck, enter and flip a property and put down whatever they had and hope to sell it off in between, and then actually have the money to continue. This led to a lot of debt and defaults in the next few years and a downturn of the market as people were selling at a loss – this brought the entire market down.
But today, the type of investment coming in very different. These are real investors – wealthy people with genuine businesses who are moving their companies here. Dubai has become a technology hub – not just of the Middle East but Asia too, where a lot of companies after the pandemic are starting to move their hubs to Dubai. I know many founders of global start-ups who are shifting their bases to Dubai as the regulations here are business-friendly, the city is a great place to live, and it’s not as expensive as other metropolitan cities.
SUSTAINABILITY We have a large project department, where the senior product management team handle projects, tenders, and quality assurance control internally. We put in effort to manage sustainability by educating them – encouraging them to attend courses that kept them updated on the latest sustainability trends in the real estate sector. In addition to this, we have a dynamic and diverse team. And I think this really helps, because when they sit around a table to discuss a project and tender – it’s not in the hands of one person to make the decision – we get inputs from all the team regarding sustainability.
We have our technical and development departments and each project’s course goes through so many different eyes and many of them point of different things – as basic as have a certain amount of external space in our developments or the type of glass that needs to be used before even the project is tendered. We’ve split our project across several stages, and this allows teams to pick up different aspects of the project which then culminates into one final tender.
AFFORDABLE LUXURY When you look at Dubai, most of the projects here are affordable luxury. Because today Dubai is on the same level as London, New York, Hong Kong, and Paris. We’re no longer competing with emerging markets. We are now on the same playing field as developed markets that have the biggest financial markets, tech incubators, real estate giants, etc. So, our comparison table has changed. When you look at other metropolitan cities, Dubai is still the cheapest in real estate. In New York and London, a studio apartment costs the same as a five-bedroom house in Dubai. When you define affordable luxury, we also have to keep in mind the ticket price of affordable luxury. Dubai has slightly excessive supply but in a way that is beneficial to the end-user. Because when there is more supply, us a developer we have to ensure that our property has an edge, is opulent, and has competitive pricing.
Dubai has affordable luxury – when you look at the project and the finishes that are available in the city, there are apartments that are quite luxurious for the definition of affordable luxury at Dhs1.3 or Dhs1.2 million. In my opinion that is very affordable, at the end of the day it is luxury.
Dubai offers a lot of luxury properties which are affordable across all developers. The city has exceeded all expectations of affordable luxury globally. If you look for affordable luxury properties in cities like New York or London, you won’t even be in the parameter of the city, whereas in Dubai you can be located centrally for a cost of just over a million dirhams and that is without even approaching the secondary market. Dubai has done a phenomenal job with affordable luxury, because they’ve set the benchmark so high that the basic projects today are affordable luxury.
I don’t see any project launched in Dubai in the past one year that is anything but an affordable luxury property in the ticket price of Dhs1.5 million upwards. I think developers are doing a great job in that segment.
DAMAC Lagoons Villa
Amira Sajwani is a graduate of University College London (UCL), where she majored in Project Management for Construction. She holds a Masters in Finance from the London School of Economics (LSE). Amira has always been talented in both her academic studies and extracurricular activities. She has served as Student Council Treasurer, Class President, Head of her House, and Valedictorian of her graduating class. She is a great fitness enthusiast who enjoys many sports, especially tennis, fencing and boxing. She also promotes healthy living and enjoys activity-based travelling, including skiing and hiking.
Raja Alameddine
CEO | Lootah Real Estate Development
REAL ESTATE TRENDS At one point people were buying real estate off-plan not even knowing what they were purchasing and were buying in bulk. However, today post pandemic investors and end users are doing a thorough check before buying a property. Properties today are bought to live in – not just for investment purposes. Perhaps they’re looking for bigger apartments or villas, good location, and they’re now much more aware of sustainability. The younger generation are prioritising sustainability. And developers are looking at following this path. Furthermore, there are new trends where buyers are looking at co-living and co-working spaces.
I believe the future is mixed-use developments, people want that integration of use in one space. Affordable luxury is an important topic, and it has nothing to do with materials used but with amenities and experiences offered. I think Dubai’s real estate market is changing – there are niche projects in the market. There are a lot of opportunities for every income range, and everyone is welcome here.
Looking at the definition of affordable luxury – it can be divided into two segments. One, usage of materials and the quality of finishes you’re offering in the project. And the second is the amenities offered at the property. The project can be a normal standard development, but it has phenomenal amenities – such as co-working spaces, a CrossFit gym, USB sockets in the apartments, the lobby of the building is a usable space with work pods and other uses, a mini theatre, a pool/ billiards room, and other amenities which you typically you don’t find in regular developments.
My definition of affordable luxury is being able to provide high level of amenities in a standard-finishes building. What makes it affordable is the location – such developments can’t be situated in the heart of the city.
This segment is still untapped in this market, it is still underdeveloped. And it is a segment worth exploring. The challenge for the buyers and end-users is that such developments are located in the outskirts of the city. SUSTAINABILITY The sustainability goals for a development need to be defined from the beginning. Instead of going into design and then mid-way somewhere changing plans or then incorporating eco-friendly concepts. No, don’t do that. Define all the processes from day one and put targets for the designers, and ensure they have people who can implement that. Find out if it’s been implemented before, work with the contractor, check if the design is achievable, etc. Work with contractors during the design process and get their feedback. We’ve implemented this on our projects, and we hear a lot of interesting things from our contractors – about sustainability, different opinions and options, what is do-able, what is not and cost among other.
It’s all about working is a linear manner – you set your goals, get a proper designer in place who has relevant experience, you engage with contractors, and set environment-friendly targets for each department and set KPIs.
Raja is an executive real estate professional with a vast experience in various asset classes including master planned cities, mixed-use communities, and innovative lifestyle developments. Having worked for large family offices as well as regional/ international developers and investment banks, Raja possesses a strong real estate development expertise coupled with a deep proficiency in the investment/ financial/legal side of the business, offering a diversified and unique skill set. His career is characterized by strong geographical mobility, particularly in the GCC region with a focus on the UAE, contributing to his ability to adapt and succeed in different work-cultures. As the CEO of Lootah Real Estate Development, Raja is looking to further enhance its real estate offerings and also look into suitable partnerships or joint ventures as a business strategy for expansion into new markets and development of new product portfolios.
Madhav Dhar
Co-founder & COO | ZaZen Properties
REAL ESTATE TRENDS For me as a private developer when we entered the market in 2017, what we realised is the trend in Dubai is people who want to buy property instead of renting. I think that shift is massive, and it shows that the market is maturing. The mortgage rates were at an all-time low which spurred people who were renting properties to invest in getting their own place.
This is a trend that we have seen across our development. Many people are purchasing properties to live in rather than for investment purposes. And our strategy was clear – we were catering to a community of buyers who want larger spaces and plenty of amenities.
I believe this will continue and sustainability is a big part of it and what we as a developer want to focus on. Whether that’s in the construction process or what we offer back to the customer (using solar energy to reduce 30% of the service charges), we’re doing our best to ensure our developments are more user friendly.
This sort of integration is something we implemented three-four years ago when we came into the market, and luckily for us along with all the benefits the government has given, the pandemic too has made it a perfect storm. This will continue not with just investors coming to Dubai but with end-users buying property in the city.
SUSTAINABILITY Because we decided to make our development a LEED-certified building and use solar power at the design stage so that impacted everything right from the material to contracting. We also went down to the blue-collar staff who were doing the block work and paint and plaster and have a monthly group meeting with them and educated them on what they’re doing and why they’re doing it and how it leads to sustainability. In the long run, is it feasible for larger projects and big construction companies? I don’t
know. I look at it on a single project basis and how you define to your team on that project the benefits of sustainability, so they buy into it from the start. They need to understand from the start to separate the wood, steel and recyclable materials so that it gets disposed efficiently.
For me it’s that micro level of making my people understand and that hopefully led to a more sustainable lifecycle for the entire project and the teams involved.
AFFORDABLE LUXURY Affordable luxury is more of an experience more than anything else and includes amenities, finishes and the lifestyles that you want to create as a brand. Every micro market within Dubai has a set price so if you’re in Jumeirah Village, you can’t go above Dhs 1,000 per square foot. Maybe four to five years ago some developers would go above that price, but you can’t do that now. But as you get into the centre of Dubai the prices will increase. The middle-class population in Dubai has been expanding continuously so affordable luxury is targeted to someone who earns Dhs 25,000 to Dhs 35,000 a month. What can they afford? With the mortgages rates being what they are, with the micro market being what it is and with land prices being what it is.
I don’t believe it’s affordable to put up something in the centre of Dubai. For me, spending Dhs100 million on Palm Jumeirah for a 100,000 square foot plot doesn’t make sense, because even if I sell it at Dhs3000 a square foot my net margin would be 30%. Do I really want to take that risk spending Dhs100 million on a plot which I will only deliver in two years? I don’t think so.
It’s important to understand that the micro market that you’re in where you have a landbank will dictate what you can do in terms of luxury. Amenities of course are essential, mixed-use buildings are the future. But that also includes having a catchment of 10-12 buildings, a sort of a mini master community. How do you do affordable luxury in one building? Because people want to live close to where they work, they don’t want to travel much. I think affordable luxury needs to be broken down into which sector you’re in, which market you’re targeting and marrying amenities with sustainability and good finishes. All of them combined is not easy.
Hosting a wealth of knowledge in the field, Dhar co-founded ZāZEN Properties and took the role of Chief Operating Officer, handling the real estate product development; from conception through to delivery. Being a hands-on leader, Dhar is involved in creating, executing and managing the company’s formation, from strategy, government relations, to marketing sales efforts, and customer relationship management. Dhar is currently leading the first development, ZāZEN One, carving out niche living spaces in the vibrant Jumeirah Village Triangle (JVT) community. With ZāZEN One, and in-line with the Dubai 2040 vision, Dhar aims to create a sustainable community lifestyle within a building, across all of ZāZEN’s developments. The management team aims to provide contemporary residences that are spacious, green conscious, well designed and have all the facilities you would need for the modern lifestyle. With a core belief to always design simple, clean spaces, and deliver quality products as promised and on time, Dhar aims to position ZāZEN as a homegrown brand that pushes the limits of what a ‘midmarket product’ should look like.
