Arada creates Hospitality and Entertainment division as non-residential business continues to grow
News: 2 May 2024
- Hospitality veteran Amit Arora appointed as Arada’s new Chief Operating Officer
- New unit to oversee hospitality, F&B, wellness and entertainment
Arada has consolidated its lifestyle assets into a separate division with new leadership as the master developer continues to see healthy growth outside its core residential business. The new Hospitality and Entertainment division incorporates a range of rapidly growing segments including Wellness, Hospitality, Arada’s F&B operations and Events.
The new division is headed up by Amit Arora, Arada’s new Chief Operating Officer, who has recently joined the company from Erth Abu Dhabi. A hospitality veteran with 28 years of experience in the UAE, Germany and the US, Arora has previously held leadership roles at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, Emaar Hospitality and FIVE Holdings.
Ahmed Alkhoshaibi, Group CEO of Arada, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Amit to Arada, where he will streamline, strategise and drive an increasingly important part of our business. The new Hospitality and Entertainment division will allow us to grow our diversified income streams still further, and to deliver on our promise of creating spaces that enable people to live happier, healthier and more meaningful lives.”
Amit Arora, Chief Operating Officer of Arada, said: “Arada continues to see exceptional growth across a wide range of verticals, and I’m excited to be joining the company at such a promising time. I look forward to working with the Arada team to realise the potential not just of our existing units but the range of new partnerships and products that we are set to announce in the near future.”
Arada’s Wellness unit includes Wellfit, the fastest-growing large-scale gym operator in the UAE, which runs three flagship fitness centres across Dubai and Sharjah and has reached over 12,000 memberships since launching in 2021. The master developer’s Hospitality pipeline oversees existing partnerships with brands such as Armani, The Address, Vida and Rove, with further tie-ups to be announced later in 2024.
Other units within the Hospitality and Entertainment division include the management of the Nest accommodation complex at Aljada; Manbat, Arada’s social partnership with the Ministry of Climate and Change and Environment, which connects Emirati farmers with consumers to enhance food security in the UAE; and Events, which oversees a wide range of corporate, consumer and lifestyle events both within and outside Arada’s communities, including the World Skate Championships.
The new division also incorporates Arada’s F&B operations, which includes Australia’s Boost Juice, the company’s first Master Franchise Agreement partner, and Hungry Wolves, the healthy-eating café/restaurant concept. In addition, the Hospitality and Entertainment division will include all of Arada’s new non-residential business.
Launched in 2017, Arada now oversees five developments across Sharjah and Dubai with a total value of AED60 billion. The master developer has delivered over 9,000 homes since inception and reported a 100% increase in sales in 2023 compared to the previous year to AED7.02 billion.
