Last year's F1 event marked the arrival of the luxury brand Cipriani in Abu Dhabi. Twelve months on and standing in the restaurant bearing his name at Yas Yacht Club - with its sparkling marina views and elegant ocean liner-esque interior - a nattily dressed Giuseppe Cipriani says that not only are things going well, but that a restaurant in Dubai and possibly a second in Abu Dhabi could easily be part of the long-term plan. "We had always been interested in Dubai and Abu Dhabi as potential venues, so when we were given the opportunity to open here, in such a beautiful building, it seemed perfect," he explains.
Cipriani is the chief executive of the global company, which boasts luxury restaurants and hotels as well as an upscale events and catering business. The building of this empire began in 1931, when Cipriani's grandfather and namesake and an American by the name of Harry Pickering struck up a partnership and opened the fabled Harry's Bar close to the Grand Canal in Venice.
Eighty years on and the Cipriani name is very well established, with outposts in Istanbul, New York and Hong Kong, among other destinations. The employee count hovers around the 3,000 mark, but Cipriani counters questions about the negative effect of expansion on maintaining standards by arguing that at its core, the business is family orientated: his father Arrigo has not yet retired and his two sons take care of operations in America. You do wonder whether this is by choice or design, though. When speaking about his own career, he is reflective: "I think I had no choice. I grew up in a house where Harry's Bar was the focal point for all the family - my destiny was written. I tried to do something different, but it didn't work. Now, of course, I am glad of that - I love the business."
He says that the company's international presence wasn't intentional: "It's not like you plan for these things to happen, they just do. Then one day, you realise that people recognise the name. I think that if you do your work properly and have a little luck, then things happen."
And that they do. As well as enjoying much success, the Ciprianis have also experienced their fair share of controversy. In 2007, Giuseppe and his father were accused of tax evasion. They both pleaded guilty to the charges - Arrgio for felony and Giuseppe for a misdemeanour and were fined US$10 million (Dh36.7 million). In 2008, the high court in the UK ruled that they were infringing the trademark rights of Orient-Express Hotels by calling their Mayfair restaurant Cipriani (the family sold their stake in Hotel Cipriani to the Orient-Express group many years ago). This decision was upheld in 2010 and the restaurant is now known as C. They (and the company) seem to have survived the strife, however, and at the moment, attention is focused on impending openings in Monte Carlo, Miami and Ibiza.
Cipriani's visit to Abu Dhabi this time combines both business and pleasure. As a former Formula 3000 team owner, he has a keen interest in the sport and says that this is his favourite weekend of the grand prix season. He is also here to check that all is well at Yas Yacht Club. The company prides itself on its reputation for combining simplicity, elegance and luxury and patrons pay a premium for this. "Seventy per cent of our customers are return visitors; people know the standard and what to expect," he says, adding, "in order to do well in the restaurant business, you have to minimise mistakes. A lunch or dinner lasts what, an hour or two? If you make a slip up early on - with the food, service, whatever - you often don't have much time to rectify the situation. It needs to be as close to perfect as possible from the start."
He goes on to describe how to prepare the perfect beef carpaccio, a dish that was invented at Harry's Bar many years ago for Amalia Nani Mocenigo, an Italian countess with an aversion to cooked meat. "The meat needs to be the very best entrecôte and it should also never be frozen. Lots of places do this, because it makes it easier to slice, but that takes away from the flavour," he says. He then advises slicing the meat with a sharp knife, arranging it on a plate and seasoning it with salt, before putting the plate in the fridge for just five minutes, to allow the salt to penetrate the meat. The dish is then served with mayonnaise spiked with lemon juice.
"Attention to detail is key and the way that we serve it will never change," he concludes, which is, of course, exactly the point of a Cipriani restaurant.
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
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
The five pillars of Islam
Arrogate's winning run
1. Maiden Special Weight, Santa Anita Park, June 5, 2016
2. Allowance Optional Claiming, Santa Anita Park, June 24, 2016
3. Allowance Optional Claiming, Del Mar, August 4, 2016
4. Travers Stakes, Saratoga, August 27, 2016
5. Breeders' Cup Classic, Santa Anita Park, November 5, 2016
6. Pegasus World Cup, Gulfstream Park, January 28, 2017
7. Dubai World Cup, Meydan Racecourse, March 25, 2017
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.
A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.
Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.
A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.
On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.
The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.
Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.
The woman recorded a positive pregnancy test two weeks later.
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
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.”
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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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"
