The buzz that emanates from the race course in Meydan can be attributed to the hectic preparations ahead of the Dubai World Cup, the world’s richest race meeting, on Saturday. On the other hand, the unmistakeable flow of energy that seems to be swirling through the entire complex of the Meydan Group LLC can be put down to the fact that business is better than ever.
Meydan, since its inception ahead of the global economic slump in 2008, is turning the corner slowly but steadily. Meydan Chairman and CEO, Saeed Al Tayer reasons that, “Meydan was born during the crisis and therefore we learnt a lot of lessons. Our view, however, has been that along with crisis there has been an element of opportunity. It cannot all be negative. We steered away from the risk factors. It wasn’t plain sailing, but we addressed the challenges.”
Though Meydan’s first priority was to build a state-of-the-art race course, that would serve as the home of horse racing in the UAE, enticing the best trainers, owners and horses to come down and compete, this was only the tip of the iceberg as far as the group’s business model was concerned. The aim was to dovetail into the wider ‘Dubai brand’ by offering services and developing components on multiple platforms. After six years of fine tuning, since it was first announced in 2007, the group’s conveyor belt carrying varied projects has been switched to fast mode.
‘’How do you turn the corner,’’ asks Saeed Al Tayer. ‘’Only if you are stable, create desirability for Meydan locally, regionally and internationally and have genuine clients coming forward to do business. Thankfully, the crisis eliminated the speculators from the market. Meydan has various components laid out to us by the visionary Shaikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai himself. Today we have sporting, commercial and residential components and our goal is to keep adding to that.’’
Having always been someone who insists on looking at the bigger picture, by ensuring that the important bits of the jigsaw are in the right place, Al Tayer is bringing a lot of gifts to the party. Meydan has just launched a hospital, in joint partnership with the Mir Hashem Khoory Group (MHK), to be ready by March 2015; there is the Meydan strategic education project, including a new Kent College Canterbury campus (in partnership with MHK Group); financing deals with Qatar National Bank (QNB) to facilitate future commercial developments; real estate projects to build at least 3,700 villas (2,000 are already secured) in partnership with Emirates airline; the Sobha Group and G&Co Group; the Entisar Tower project on Shaikh Zayed Road, which is planned as a 111 storey community living in a vertical tower. Entisar means Triumph. This is a message that Dubai triumphed the financial crisis. It’s also the name of the horse on which Shaikh Mohammed won the world endurance championship in the UK; major companies like DHL have also announced the setting up of logistics facilities, worth AED. 50 million, by 2014.’’
Al Tayer is quick to endorse that Dubai is still in the game. ‘’Dubai has the right elements,’’ he stated. ‘’It has the right business mindset. It also meets the minimum standards required by multinational organisations that are seeking to set up services not just in the region, but also in the Far East, India and the southern part of Africa. Europe is still struggling, as things are beginning to unfold. I think we have come out of the crisis in good shape and Dubai is attracting investors.’’
Drawing out a blue print for Meydan as a business entity Al Tayer says, ‘’Sports is an unspoken language. When you have a fantastic facility, the best athletes in equine and the owners behind it who treat this as a hobby, because they also have other successful business ventures, it does create a certain buzz for potential future business relationships.
‘’Relationships are built on various factors: people must be comfortable with each other. Comfortable with the environment they operate in and the convenience of coming to a place like this. We are broadcasting on all these elements and transforming it into activities which involve business.’’
Of all the projects that Meydan has lined up for the future perhaps none are as significant as the group’s association with the Shaikh Mohammed Bin Rashid City and the import of racing know how and expertise to the city of Chengdu in China.
‘’The Shaikh Mohammed Bin Rashid City is of tremendous value addition to us,’’ said Al Tayer. This is the main driver for us towards achieving successful results. We are involved in a beautiful component – the Mohammed Bin Rashid Gardens - that will create an extra attraction for Dubai.’’
Though details for this project are yet to be announced, it is believed that Meydan will be involved in working through 45 million square feet of land in the setting up on an exclusive gated community. Huge water bodies and other attractions are apparently in the blueprint. The unique selling point is that only 15 percent of the total land will have construction with the rest being open to water and parks.
According to Al Tayer, Meydan is getting business because, ‘’The business community knows how to benchmark. You can’t sell anything if the buyer is not convinced. We have learnt a lot from their feedback. The team here is extremely accessible with anyone who comes to enquire. We have been frank with them - with what can be done and when it can be done. We leave it to the investors to decide. When they are convinced they come on board. When we unveil our products and detail the potential growth and appreciation on their investments they make their decision in a short time.
‘’When you are born in challenging times, like Meydan, the whole aspect of creating a relationship changes. You know your true partners. Are certain financial institutions genuine with you, or do they just want to benefit? I respect that, but the people who stay with us will benefit from the relationship. You cannot cut the corners in a long term relationship. Every year is a measure and the indicators get positive and you are healthier. Everything is a challenge, but if you make your partner share your benefits and objectives and harness the partnership then beautiful things begin to happen.’’
