A restaurant chain based in Dubai plans to sell noodles back to the Chinese.
Noodle House, well known for its noodle-shaped pens, could also soon be springing up in Saudi Arabia and Russia.
Jumeirah Group owns the South East Asian-style restaurant brand, which employs an order system in which diners tick boxes on disposable menus, and it has ambitious global expansion plans. This is a rare move for a home-grown restaurant brand that sits alongside an ever-growing number of international names in the UAE dining scene.
Jumeirah Group, part of Dubai Holding, manages luxury hotels including the Burj al Arab and the Jumeirah Beach Hotel in Dubai, and Essex House in New York.
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"What we're saying is that we want 150 Noodle House development agreements by 2012," said Phil Broad, the managing director of Jumeirah Restaurants.
Noodle House has outlets across the GCC and in locations including Australia and Cyprus. Its sixth restaurant in Dubai opened in Deira a month ago.
The restaurants abroad are based on a franchise model, with Jumeirah owning and operating its Noodle House restaurants in Dubai.
The company plans to open branches in Bahrain and Egypt in the next few weeks, as well as a second Noodle House in Saudi Arabia.
Mr Broad said the company was also in discussions to take the brand to China. "Jumeirah Group is also moving there with their hotels. There is a synergy between us and Jumeirah Hotels and Resorts."
With Dubai a popular destination among Russian tourists, Mr Broad said there had been significant interest from partners who wanted to launch Noodle House there.
"Some of that is driven by the amount of Russians that come into this market as a holiday destination," he said.
The casual dining segment in the UAE is worth Dh2.2 billion (US$598.9m) per year and is expected to increase by 47 per cent to Dh3.24bn by 2015, according to a report released yesterday by Horizons, a food trend analyst.
Noodle House is "a good tidy concept", said Stefan Breg, the chief executive of the food and beverage consultancy Tribe Restaurant Creators. He said other local companies had ambitions for international expansion, but that Noodle House seemed to be leading the way in terms of exporting a home-grown restaurant brand. "It's of the same genre as Wagamama."
Mr Breg said there was demand for such restaurants globally. "There's a growing middle class, people have more disposable income."
One of the brands Jumeirah is investing in is its Dubai branch of The Ivy, the popular restaurant in London's West End.
Jumeirah Restaurants said more than 84 tables and about 350 guests were already booked for The Ivy in Emirates Towers.
"We will potentially open in May, but we're taking bookings from June because we can't give the exact date yet," the company said.
The Ivy is replacing Scarlett's, which closed at the beginning of the year for construction on the new property. The Ivy and brands such as Le Caprice and Scott's are owned by Caprice Holdings.
Last September Jumeirah took over the Middle East rights for brands from Tatweer, which, like Jumeirah, is also part of Dubai Holding.
rbundhun@thenational.ae
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
All you need to know about Formula E in Saudi Arabia
What The Saudia Ad Diriyah E-Prix
When Saturday
Where Diriyah in Saudi Arabia
What time Qualifying takes place from 11.50am UAE time through until the Super Pole session, which is due to end at 12.55pm. The race, which will last for 45 minutes, starts at 4.05pm.
Who is competing There are 22 drivers, from 11 teams, on the grid, with each vehicle run solely on electronic power.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE
Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood.
Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues.
Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity.
Omega-3 (EPA/DHA): Supports heart health and reduces inflammation, especially for those who consume little fish.
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
The specs: 2018 Opel Mokka X
Price, as tested: Dh84,000
Engine: 1.4L, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: Six-speed auto
Power: 142hp at 4,900rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 1,850rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L / 100km
The biog:
Favourite book: The Leader Who Had No Title by Robin Sharma
Pet Peeve: Racism
Proudest moment: Graduating from Sorbonne
What puts her off: Dishonesty in all its forms
Happiest period in her life: The beginning of her 30s
Favourite movie: "I have two. The Pursuit of Happiness and Homeless to Harvard"
Role model: Everyone. A child can be my role model
Slogan: The queen of peace, love and positive energy
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
The specs: 2019 Haval H6
Price, base: Dh69,900
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 197hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 315Nm @ 2,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
