DAMAC Properties is an Emirati property development company, based in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. Founded by Hussain Sajwani, it was listed on the Dubai Financial Market in early 2015.[3] The company was delisted in 2022 after it was taken private again; Sajwani, who retained 72% of all shares, purchased the remaining shares for 2.19 billion AED (595 million USD).[3][4] The company operates internationally.[5][6]
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Founded | 28 January 1982[1] |
| Headquarters | Dubai, United Arab Emirates |
Key people | Hussain Sajwani (owner and chairman until 2024) |
| Products | Real estate |
| Revenue | $ 1.66 billion (2018)[2] |
Number of employees | circa 1,600 (2018) |
| Parent | DAMAC Group |
| Subsidiaries |
|
| Website | Official website  |
History
editDAMAC Properties was founded in 2002 by Hussain Sajwani,[7] a billionaire Emirati business tycoon. [7][3] In November 2013, DAMAC announced plans to raise approximately $500 million on the London Stock Exchange via a sale of global depository receipts.[8]
Sajwani is a close friend and associate of Donald Trump.[9] In a 2016 disclosure, Trump reporting received between $1 million to $5 million from DAMAC.[7]
Finances
editIn the year 2017, the total revenue recorded by DAMAC properties was AED 7.5 billion.[10] In 2018, DAMAC Properties recorded total revenue of AED 6.1 billion.[2]
Projects
editThe company developed a master-planned residential golf course community around the Trump International Golf Club in Dubai, which opened in February 2017.[11][12] The partnership between DAMAC and The Trump Organization for the development originated in 2013.[7] Originally known as The Akoya, the developer later renamed the residential development DAMAC Hills.[7] The golf club, with golf course, designed by Gil Hanse,[7] were formally opened in February 2017, with Trump's sons Donald Jr. and Eric as guests of honor.[12] Trump's business relations with DAMAC during his presidency raised concerns about his compliance with the Foreign Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution.[7]
A second DAMAC Properties project in Dubai is Akoya Oxygen, a residential development alongside a second Trump International Golf Course, designed by Tiger Woods.[12] Larger than the DAMAC Hills project,[7] DAMAC announced the project in 2014, selling its first homes that year.[13] The development is located within Dubai's Dubailand development.[13] Spending on the Akoya Oxygen project reached $1.5 billion by mid-2018.[14] In the first six months of 2017, DAMAC Properties said that it had awarded AED 1.8 billion in contracts for Akoya Oxygen (making up the bulk of its total contracts over the same period, valued at AED 3.5 billion).[15][16] A $20 million road and infrastructure contract for the development was awarded in 2018 to the China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC).[14] The $169 million construction contract for Akoya Oxygen was awarded in 2019 to Arabtec Construction, a subsidiary of the UAE-based Arabtec Holding.[17]
Damac owned Safa One and Safa Two. Safa One is situated on the edge of Safa Park, viewing the Dubai Canal while Safa Two is situated opposite to Safa One with views of Dubai Canal, Burj Al Arab and the Palm.[18][19]
DAMAC Hills is a golf community development located in Al Hebiah 3 in Dubailand. A Damac hotel is located on the Trump International Golf Club Dubai at DAMAC Hills.[20][21] In November 2020, DAMAC hills launched UAE's first residential wave pool.[22] In 2014, DAMAC Properties launched, DAMAC Hills 2.[23]
DAMAC Heights, a 335 m-tall, 88-floor luxury residential tower in Dubai Marina, opened to tenants in 2018.[24] Arabtec Construction was the primary contractor for the tower, which overlooks Palm Jumeirah.[24]
DAMAC Towers by Paramount is a four-tower development by DAMAC Properties in collaboration with Paramount Hotel & Resorts. The project comprises 2000 units with 1200 units across three residential apartment towers and 800 units in the Paramount Hotel tower.[25][26]
DAMAC Properties signed a £200 million contract with Lendlease in 2016 to build one of London's tallest residential towers.[27] At 50 floors, AYKON London One, now known as DAMAC Tower Nine Elms London,[28] is located in Nine Elms, on the south bank of the River Thames.[29][30] The building was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates with interiors created in partnership with Versace Home.[31] The project is valued at $758 million[32] and was topped out in 2019.[33]
In 2019, DAMAC completed the Ghalia project with 727 apartments in a Sharia-compliant development, located in the Jumeirah Village Circle in Dubai.[34]
Controversies
editThe real estate firm has a long-standing partnership with the businesses of US president Donald Trump.[9] The Guardian reported that DAMAC board member and former chairman Farooq Arjomand owned a company that paid Alexander Smirnov $600,000 for telling the FBI that Hunter Biden and his father, US President Joe Biden, engaged in a bribery scheme. Smirnov was later charged for telling fabricated corruption stories about Joe Biden to the FBI.[9]
Sveriges Television journalists reported that a company salesperson mentioned the option of purchasing apartments with cash or cryptocurrency to avoid questions about the source of the money. Damac responded that they do not offer such options and will investigate the salesperson's statements.[35]
External links
editReferences
edit- ^ "Why DAMAC Properties | Leading Real Estate Developer in Middle East". DAMAC Properties. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
- ^ a b "Damac Properties posts Dh6.1b revenue". Khaleej Times. 14 February 2019.
- ^ a b c Aya Batrawy, Trump-linked tycoon to take Dubai developer DAMAC private, Associated Press (June 9, 2021).
- ^ Nagraj, Aarti (7 March 2022). "Damac to officially delist from Dubai Financial Market". The National. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
- ^ "Stocks". Bloomberg. 7 February 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
- ^ "Trump's brand in Middle East has gone up, says DAMAC Chairman Sajwani". english.alarabiya.net. 30 August 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Jon Gambrell, AP Exclusive: Golf club shows pitfalls of Trump presidency, Associated Press (January 4, 2017).
- ^ "Dubai developer DAMAC plans $500 million London share listing". Reuters UK.
- ^ a b c Sweet, Jacqueline (14 March 2024). "US firm that paid indicted FBI informant tied to Trump associates, records reveal". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077.
- ^ "Damac revenue up 4% to Dh7.5b for 2017". Khaleej Times. 14 February 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
- ^ "Dubai developer renames Trump golf community 'DAMAC Hills'". Middle East Construction News. 8 February 2017.
- ^ a b c Michael Fahy (17 February 2017). "Trump's sons in Dubai to open Trump International Golf Club". The National.
- ^ a b Andy Sambidge. "DAMAC says first AKOYA Oxygen homes sell out 'in record time'". Arabian Business.
- ^ a b Shakeel, Shayan (10 June 2018). "Damac Akoya Oxygen construction spend tops $1.5 billion". Arabian Business.
- ^ "Dubai's Damac awarded contracts worth AED 3.5 bln in 2017". ArgaamPlus.
- ^ "DAMAC Properties Awards 370 Contracts Valued at AED 3.5 Billion so far in 2017". article.wn.com. 6 September 2017.
- ^ Pradeep, Angitha (6 January 2019). "Arabtec Construction secures contracts worth $169mn for construction of residential projects".
- ^ "Safa Two apartments for sale in Dubai | DAMAC Properties UAE". DAMAC Properties. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ "Safa One by de Grisogono". propsearch.ae. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ "Radisson Hotel, Dubai Damac Hills launched". Khaleej Times. 13 August 2018. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
- ^ "Global Partnership Signed Between Roberto Cavalli and DAMAC Properties Founder, Hussain Sajwani - Markets Insider". markets.businessinsider.com. 1 October 2018. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
- ^ "Malibu Bay: UAE's first residential wave pool is now open – in pictures". The National. 3 November 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
- ^ Nagraj, Aarti (21 September 2014). "Damac, Trump Plan New Golf Course In Dubai Within AKOYA Oxygen". Gulf Business. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ a b Jack Ball (23 July 2018). "Dubai's $654m Damac Heights welcomes first tenants". Construction Week.
- ^ "Damac logs 24 million safe man-hours on $1.4bn four-tower project". Construction Week. Archived from the original on 15 May 2018.
- ^ Sam Bridge (1 July 2019). "First residents move into Damac's Akoya mega project in Dubai". Arabian Business.
- ^ Fraser, Isabelle (23 August 2016). "Damac's new tower in Nine Elms to be built in £200m deal with Lendlease". The Telegraph – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
- ^ "Damac to showcase premium luxury projects at Cityscape". www.tradearabia.com.
- ^ "DAMAC Tower - London SW8 | Buildington".
- ^ "Dubai's Damac awards Dh967m contract to build Aykon London One tower". The National. 23 August 2016.
- ^ Brooks, Emily (19 March 2018). "From D&G's fridge to Versace's playroom: the designers bringing fashion to interiors". The Telegraph – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
- ^ "Damac company awards $308m London tower deal to Multiplex". Construction Week Online Middle East.
- ^ "Damac tops out UK's Nine Elms, grows despite Brexit uncertainties". Construction Week Online Middle East.
- ^ Oskys, Samuel (12 June 2019). "Property Developer in Dubai Damac delivers 727 Luxury Homes in a High Riser".
- ^ Ovsyaniy, Kyrylo; Andrushko, Serhiy; Tolstyakova, Kira (14 May 2024). "Dubai Unlocked: How Yanukovych-Era Ukrainian Officials Poured Millions Into Secretive U.A.E. Real Estate". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.