Jamie Oliver to establish in Dubai

Jamie Oliver’s hit TV shows and books have made him one of Britain’s best-known celebrity chefs – and he’s about to become a familiar figure in Dubai, too.

This week it was announced the 33-year-old from Essex is putting his name to a number of projects here. He is designing the kitchens for all the properties in the Water neighbourhood at Jumeirah Golf Estates.

In addition he is opening two restaurants – a branch of Jamie’s Italian and a barbecue-themed outlet – at the Leisurecorp development and a takeaway venture called Grab and Go is on the way too. “Over the next two years I will be back and forth to Dubai,” Oliver tells Emirates Business.

“The Jumeirah Golf Estates project is not just brand-slapping – all the partnerships I have been involved with have been longstanding.”

Jamie’s Italian has already proved successful in the UK despite the economic downturn.

There are branches in Oxford and Bath and a third is due to open in Kingston, Surrey, next month. And in true Oliver style he is going to be keeping things unpretentious.

“You can go for a meal with drinks for £18 to £21 (Dh113 to Dh132),” he says. “Jamie’s Italian in Dubai, will offer casual dining with brilliant, authentic Italian food.”

Customers will be able to buy ready-made meals, cookery DVDs and ingredients and hire kitchen equipment and recipe books at Grab and Go.

“There might be a lot of money in this part of the world but the point is it doesn’t matter how rich or poor you are if you do not know how to nourish yourself,” he adds.

“The Dubai project is going to create something unique from the roots up. I am going to spend two-and-a-half years on it, so it’s not just another project.

“I want to help create a food culture here and grow many ingredients myself. Leisurecorp is more than just about cash, they really want to create something special, which is why I am here. This is a chance of a lifetime for me. I don’t know how much money I’m getting but they’ve said there is no limit on what I can spend, which is great and means I can be creative.”

Oliver and wife Jools recently announced that another child is on the way to join their two daughters Poppy Honey, six, and Daisy Boo, five. “Our third child is due in March. A good thing about Dubai is that I have finally found a place where I can spend time with my family without being hassled.”

Oliver shot to fame in 1997 when he appeared in a TV documentary about London’s River Café. He was soon offered his own TV show, The Naked Chef, which became a worldwide hit and is currently being aired on Showtime.

He went on to write 11 best-selling books and his programmes have been broadcast in 50 countries and translated into 26 languages. He promotes the Sainsbury’s supermarket chain in the UK and in 2003 was awarded an MBE for his contribution to the hospitality industry.

But despite being one of the wealthiest chefs in Britain with a estimated value of £40 million (Dh256m) according to the Sunday Times Rich List where he is positioned 1,794, the young chef uses his money to help others.

In 2001 he opened Fifteen, a training restaurant for youngsters who are not in full-time education or employment.

The Fifteen Foundation charity continues its work today and recently recruited the sixth year of students for training.

“I put all my life savings into Fifteen and my old man said, ‘Don’t do it.’ But now we have four and they are all profitable. I give up a lot of my time doing things for other people and believe this is the right thing to do.

“I have sold 22 million books so I have cash to do things like this.”

Oliver has become a champion of the healthy eating campaign in the UK where his TV series’ Jamie’s School Dinners pushed the government into improving meals and his latest show, Jamie’s Ministry of Food currently being screened in the UK, is causing controversy. “When you are in a trade like mine and you see some of the things people eat you get angry,” says Oliver, who himself admits to liking the odd unhealthy snack. “I never wanted to get political but I pay British taxes and am proud to do so but I also care what happens to the money.

“In School Dinners we had four health ministers leave their jobs. I do tend to show things up. It’s about proper food.

“People think I am all ‘healthy food, healthy food’ but that’s not the case. If you look at my recipes some of them are unhealthy but it’s about good food and a balanced diet. The massive problem in the UK is that people focus too much on a small variety of foods and are not getting the balance right.

“In School Dinners we showed that the impact of a balanced diet improved kid’s attainment levels by seven to 10 per cent. Imagine being in charge of this and being able to make your kids cleverer.”

Oliver says he felt a burden of responsibility as a chef to educate the public about nutrition and healthy eating. He admits: “I have just spent a year doing Ministry of Food and it has been really tough, but I see it as my job. Sometimes I think I’d love to be in Thailand learning how to make stir-fries but I’m not and that’s because I feel a level of responsibility to help.

“What chefs do is really important and we should use that as a platform. I try to get people away from convenience food and high fat food by making cooking fun.”

Oliver inherited his love of cooking from his father, Trevor, who still runs the same restaurant in Essex.

“I grew up in a family business, and helped out in the kitchen.

“I love the cooking industry with a passion, it has great people and great prospects.

“I never thought I’d be doing what I am, but I knew I would make myself good at what I did because I have high standards.”

Jamie’s millions

In the 2008 Sunday Times Rich List Jamie Oliver was ranked 1,794 with an estimated worth of £40m.

As his success has grown, he has expanded his business interests, investing in new media ventures, property and food companies. He also has a significant income from advertising, which includes being the face of Sainsbury’s supermarket, a deal worth an estimated £1.2 million a year.

He has sold 22 million books worldwide and also promotes Tefal and Typhoon kitchen equipment.

Oliver has appeared on many TV programmes and his own production company, Fresh One Productions, now makes the majority of shows, earning him enough money to plough back into the next one.

Oliver’s holding company, Sweet as Candy, is worth an estimated £25m which includes income from international sales of his books, his television shows and cookware, as well as property investments.

In 2005 he was named as one of the richest people under 30 in the UK.

Emirates Business

Balli Group heads to Cityscape to unveil $3bn real estate portfolio

Balli Real Estate, the property investment and development division of the Balli Group, is raising its profile in the Middle East as part of its $3.5+billion property development and investment portfolio expansion plans.

Balli Real Estate has four core activities: fund management, joint venture developments, direct developments and bulk purchase investment, and is involved in some of the most exciting and prestigious real estate projects in the world. In the United Arab Emirates the company operates under the Peacock Ventures Ltd brand.

Balli Real Estate currently has a portfolio of over $3billion, comprised of over 900,000 sqft of property under development with a gross development value of some $800 million, and an additional 2 million sqft and a GDV of almost $2.5 billion in the pipeline.

The company has already invested in four major residential and mixed use projects in the UAE, under the Peacock Ventures brand, with a combined total of over 1,000 luxury residences. These include properties in the sought after Culture Village district and the prestigious Waterfront precinct. The company is now seeking more real estate investment opportunities in the region provided by developers, agents and landowners.

Led by a senior management team of eight directors and managers, Balli Real Estate is currently raising its focus on investing in and developing high quality real estate in the Middle East. As part of this, Balli Real Estate is sending a senior team to Cityscape Dubai 2008 (6th-9th October). The team will be there to review investment and development opportunities in the region and meet existing and new real estate contacts and discuss details of Balli Real Estate’s property activities and ongoing expansion plans.

Vahid Alaghband, Group Chairman of Balli Group comments:

“Balli Real Estate is a business that is expanding rapidly. Cityscape is the major property exhibition for the Middle East, so we see it as the perfect location to meet with developers and agents and review the latest investment opportunities in the region and also update the international property sector on what we are doing, as well as highlighting the many opportunities we see coming up in the future.”

In light of this, a senior management team from Balli Real Estate, including Vahid Alaghband, Manging Director Hassan Alaghband and Group Finance Director David Spriddell, will be attending a number of meetings and briefings at Cityscape.

The Balli Group is a large private multi-national corporation with offices in Dubai and London and other major business hubs and divisions focusing on commodity trading (steel, aluminum and chemicals), industrial activities (printing, rolling and packaging) and real estate (in prime locations in the Middle East and UK). The company has over 1,600 employees, a head office in London and offices in America, continental Europe, Turkey, Africa and the Middle East and operations in over 22 countries around the world.

Hassan Alaghband, Director at Balli comments: “Whether it’s in the UAE or UK, we undertake joint ventures or direct development of luxury residential, commercial and mixed-use projects under the Balli Real Estate or Peacock Ventures Ltd brands. We are also establishing a Dubai based property fund into which the Group’s investor contacts will be invited to provide investment. The real estate division forms a fundamental part of the on going expansion and diversification strategy of Balli and the returns achieved from our property investments in the Middle East and London have proved to be highly lucrative.”

Vahid Alaghband continues:

“Our extensive Group operations in the commodity trading, industrial and private equity businesses generate lucrative profits and have insulated Balli from the funding issues that have impacted on other real estate companies. It places Balli Real Estate in a special position in the real estate market as we can operate as both a developer and a supplier of real estate funding. Our real estate operations have never been so busy and we are currently exploring a record number of investment opportunities in the Middle East and UK.”

The success of the real estate division is due to its focus on only working with established high quality developers, professionals and bankers. Meticulous research, including risk evaluations, site visits and market research is undertaken before any sort of investment is undertaken.

David Reid, Director at Balli Real Estate comments: “We have been undertaking joint venture, fund investment and bulk purchase projects in Dubai for a number of years and we have steadily built our presence in the market. We have found Dubai to be highly profitable and will continue to expand our operations in the UAE.”

For further information on Balli Real Estate contact David Reid on Tel: 00 44 (0)207 544 8331 or visit www.balli.co.uk

ACW Holdings opens UK sales centre and showroom

ACW Holdings, a leading property developer specialising in high-yield investment opportunities across the residential, retail, serviced apartment and commercial office sectors in the UAE has opened a new dedicated sales centre and showroom in the heart of Central London.

Located on Edgware Road, the new showroom is a permanent showcase promoting the entire ACW Holdings’ portfolio of commercial, residential and retail developments in the UAE and also acts as a central base for ACW Holdings’ salespeople when travelling from Dubai.

Previously ACW Holdings’ developments were marketed through nationwide exhibitions and road shows, which proved enormously popular and were well received by investors in the United Kingdom.

According to ACW Holdings’ General Manager Ian Pask:

“The professionalism of our sales team and the personal relationships which they have built with our clients has always been an integral part of ACW Holdings’ success. The opening of our new dedicated London sales centre and showroom is an important step forward in our overall business strategy as a real estate developer. This also demonstrates our continued commitment to providing our UK based clients with the highest international standards of customer care, as well as supporting our objective of developing the UK market further in the longer term.”

Scale models and interactive presentations of all ACW Holdings’ developments at the sales centre and showroom allow prospective owners and investors to gain additional understanding about the Dubai property market and ACW Holdings’ innovative high-yield developments.

“Dubai remains a very popular destination for foreign property investment and we aim to create a convenient and comfortable venue for clients to meet with ACW Holdings’ sales team on a one-to-one basis and discuss their individual property investment requirements in privacy and at leisure.” concluded Mr. Pask.

AME Info/Press release