One of the investors close to securing a majority stake in New York’s iconic Plaza hotel for $600 million plans to bring the luxury property brand to the UAE in the near future.
"My dream has been to build a brand of Plazas globally like the Ritz Carlton but with uber luxury and brands unique to the Plaza like the Palm Court and The Oak Room," Shahal Khan founder of Dubai's White City Ventures, told The National by email. "We are ready to close and I look forward to opening a plaza in Abu Dhabi soon thereafter. By 2020 I'll open one in UAE. Also one in China."
Mr Khan and other investors have secured a deal with the Indian conglomerate Sahara India Pariwar, controlled by Subrata Roy, and will close the deal by June 25, according to The Real Deal who was first to report on the agreement last week. The Sahara Group has a controlling stake in the landmark hotel which it bought in 2012. Minority owners in the property include Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation and Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal's Kingdom Holding with each holding a 12.5 per cent stake in the hotel.
Sahara, which previously owned the Grosvenor House in London, has been trying to sell its stake in the Plaza, because its chairman, Mr Roy, is under pressure from the Indian government, which has ordered him to return billions of dollars to investors, according to Bloomberg.
Mr Khan told The National he is financing $415m of the purchase amount of the 111-year-old Plaza and the remaining portion with equity.
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Read more
Alwaleed's Kingdom and partners to sell New York Plaza for $600m
Subrata Roy: The rise and fall of an Indian billionaire
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“I can confirm we have reached an agreement…We are also removing the loan of HBJ (Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani) and waiting for approvals on that,” Mr Khan said.
Last year, the former billionaire Qatari Prime Minister became a senior creditor on the property after acquiring a mortgage on it, according to a Bloomberg report.
Whether Ashkenazy Acquisition and Kingdom accept or challenge the agreement remains to be seen.
The hotel, which is considered a trophy asset by investors, was once owned by US President Donald Trump who bought the property in 1988 for $390m. Mr Trump was forced to offload the Plaza, which was facing bankruptcy in 1992. The hotel has been managed by Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, a unit of France’s Accor since 1999.
Mr Khan said he intends on visiting the UAE this summer as part of his plans to eventually bring the brand to the country.
Illustrious history of a New York landmark
The Plaza Hotel in New York, now managed by Fairmont, was the dream of financier Bernhard Beinecke, hotelier Fred Sterry and Harry Black, president of the Fuller Construction Company. The trio bought a 15-year-old property of the same name on the site and set about building a 19-storey edifice that became one of the most famous hotels in the world. Construction took two years and no expense was spared. The largest single order in history for gold-encrusted china was placed with L Straus & Sons and no fewer than 1,650 crystal chandeliers were bought. Since it opened its doors it has changed hands a couple of times, played host to some very famous names and been the setting for classic films, from Cary Grant-starring North By Northwest to 2013 remake The Great Gatsby.
Today it is still a gem among the US hospitality industry and a night's stay there with breakfast will cost around $825.
Timeline:
1883: Construction begins on the first Plaza Hotel on the former site of the New York Skating Club.
1890: The first Plaza Hotel opens on October 1.
1905: The first hotel is demolished to build a bigger Plaza.
1910: The second Plaza Hotel opens at a cost of $12.5m exactly five years later on October 1.
1943: Conrad Hilton and Atlas Corporation buy the Plaza for $7.4m.
1964: UK pop group The Beatles arrive for a six-day stay.
1988: Mr Trump acquires the hotel for $390m.
2008: The Plaza reopens after a three-year refurbishment programme costing $450m and Fairmont takes over management of the establishment.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The specs: 2019 Jeep Wrangler
Price, base: Dh132,000
Engine: 3.6-litre V6
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 285hp @ 6,400rpm
Torque: 347Nm @ 4,100rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.6L to 10.3L / 100km
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
WTL%20SCHEDULE
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The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
Sun jukebox
Rufus Thomas, Bear Cat (The Answer to Hound Dog) (1953)
This rip-off of Leiber/Stoller’s early rock stomper brought a lawsuit against Phillips and necessitated Presley’s premature sale to RCA.
Elvis Presley, Mystery Train (1955)
The B-side of Presley’s final single for Sun bops with a drummer-less groove.
Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two, Folsom Prison Blues (1955)
Originally recorded for Sun, Cash’s signature tune was performed for inmates of the titular prison 13 years later.
Carl Perkins, Blue Suede Shoes (1956)
Within a month of Sun’s February release Elvis had his version out on RCA.
Roy Orbison, Ooby Dooby (1956)
An essential piece of irreverent juvenilia from Orbison.
Jerry Lee Lewis, Great Balls of Fire (1957)
Lee’s trademark anthem is one of the era’s best-remembered – and best-selling – songs.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Directed by Sam Mendes
Starring Dean-Charles Chapman, George MacKay, Daniel Mays
4.5/5
MATCH INFO
Maratha Arabians 107-8 (10 ovs)
Lyth 21, Lynn 20, McClenaghan 20 no
Qalandars 60-4 (10 ovs)
Malan 32 no, McClenaghan 2-9
Maratha Arabians win by 47 runs
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:
Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Game is on BeIN Sports
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Haemoglobin disorders explained
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
Brief scores:
Liverpool 3
Mane 24', Shaqiri 73', 80'
Manchester United 1
Lingard 33'
Man of the Match: Fabinho (Liverpool)
The specs: 2018 BMW X2 and X3
Price, as tested: Dh255,150 (X2); Dh383,250 (X3)
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged inline four-cylinder (X2); 3.0-litre twin-turbo inline six-cylinder (X3)
Power 192hp @ 5,000rpm (X2); 355hp @ 5,500rpm (X3)
Torque: 280Nm @ 1,350rpm (X2); 500Nm @ 1,520rpm (X3)
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic (X2); Eight-speed automatic (X3)
Fuel consumption, combined: 5.7L / 100km (X2); 8.3L / 100km (X3)
