Leading Sharjah developer Arada has consolidated its lifestyle assets into a separate division with new leadership as it 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.
It will be 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.
Lauding the move, Group CEO Ahmed Alkhoshaibi 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 division will allow us to grow our diversified income streams still further, and deliver on our promise of creating spaces that enable people to live happier, healthier and more meaningful lives.”
Arada’s Wellness unit includes Wellfit, a 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.
Its 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.
On his new role, Arora 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.”
Some of the key units within the new division include the management of the Nest accommodation complex at Aljada and Events, which oversees a wide range of corporate, consumer and lifestyle events including the World Skate Championships in addition to 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, it added.-TradeArabia News Service
