The restaurant group behind Quaglino’s and Coq d’Argent are reportedly eyeing the Dubai food and beverage market for growth.
According to The Times of London, D&D London, formerly Conran Restaurants, "is working with a leading firm of property advisers to find sites in Dubai for new and existing concepts, possibly including a branch of Quaglino's".
Des Gunewardena, D&D’s chairman and chief executive, confirmed to the newspaper that he has visited Dubai twice since October, the latest a three-day trip with Jeremy Simmons, the founder of consultants Berkeley Simmons Leisure, to explore opportunities.
"If we do go to Dubai, we wouldn't have just one restaurant," Mr Gunewardena told The Times. "You need the scale to make it worthwhile, so if we do decide to do something we will try to do several restaurants."
He added that the group had yet to commit to any projects but that it “will manage and directly operate our own restaurants in Dubai, as we do in Paris and New York.”
Nearly 30 per cent of new entrants into the UAE’s retail space last year comprised food and beverage openings, according to CBRE research released last week.
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THE SPECS
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch
Power: 710bhp
Torque: 770Nm
Speed: 0-100km/h 2.9 seconds
Top Speed: 340km/h
Price: Dh1,000,885
On sale: now
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The Bio
Name: Lynn Davison
Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi
Children: She has one son, Casey, 28
Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite Author: CJ Sansom
Favourite holiday destination: Bali
Favourite food: A Sunday roast
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Tips for taking the metro
- set out well ahead of time
- make sure you have at least Dh15 on you Nol card, as there could be big queues for top-up machines
- enter the right cabin. The train may be too busy to move between carriages once you're on
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Scoreline
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Saudi Arabia Al Muwallad 63’
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Bareilly Ki Barfi
Directed by: Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring: Kriti Sanon, Ayushmann Khurrana, Rajkummar Rao
Three and a half stars