Deyaar Announces Plans to Foray into Hospitality Development Sector

• Earmarks Over One Million Square Feet Towards Hospitality Projects
• Looks to Build Hospitality Offerings in Business Bay, along Sheikh Zayed Road and in areas near Proposed Expo 2020 Venue
• New Strategy Part of Company’s Medium and Long-term Plan to Increase Market Share in Real Estate Sector

Dubai-UAE: 01 March, 2014 - Deyaar Development PJSC, a customer-focused, trusted and valued developer with in-depth market intelligence and property management expertise, today announced its decision to expand its development portfolio beyond commercial and residential properties, with the inclusion of hospitality projects.

The move, which comes as part of Deyaar’s strategy to diversify its capabilities in the real estate sector, will be initiated within the Dubai market. In line with its new direction, the company has allotted up to one million square feet for hotel and serviced apartment projects in prime locations in the city in the coming years. These include strategically-located areas such as Business Bay, along Sheikh Zayed Road, as well as sites located in close proximity to the proposed venue for the Expo 2020 mega event, along Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed road. Deyaar also seeks to grow its hospitality portfolio both organically and inorganically through acquisitions.

Notably, Deyaar’s decision to develop hospitality offerings follows a call by Dubai’s leadership for greater investment in developing realty solutions to serve the rising tourist footfall to the emirate. With several projects under consideration, the company also aims to forge international collaborations that increase essential value propositions such as quality and credibility.

Saeed Al Qatami, Chief Executive Officer at Deyaar, said: “We believe this is a positive step for Deyaar, and will give us an opportunity to demonstrate our ability to deliver on evolving market demands. Dubai has seen a phenomenal surge in occupancy rates, crossing the 80 per cent mark in high-value areas in 2013. Deyaar certainly has the means to tap into this growing sector, and give our customers a bigger portfolio of investment options to choose from.

“We have a number of projects under consideration, which we hope to reveal soon. Some of these properties will be retained as fully-owned developments under Deyaar, while other projects will be sold to third-party investors. Each development will feature trademark Deyaar differentiators, such as location, quality, a sense of space and timely delivery.”

Deyaar offers four main real estate solutions, including property development; property and asset management; facilities management and owner’s association management. The company’s varied operational approach has been especially favourable given the strong upturn in the real estate market, enabling a 300 per cent increase in profits last year.

Commenting on market trends, Qatami said: “The demand for residential, retail and commercial properties is on the rise. Based on the sales results achieved last year, we can see that the buoyancy is certainly catching on. We are confident that with continued inflow of liquidity into the market, Dubai will sustain healthy growth in its real estate sector. As a developer, we believe the way to contribute to this growth is by delivering exceptional quality projects and reasonable investment prospects that keep buyers interested and prices within mature market levels.”

Deyaar is well-positioned to play a pivotal role in the development of the region's property landscape. Its unrivalled portfolio of property offerings and services has firmly consolidated the company’s pioneering status in the industry.