Sporting chance

A few weeks ago, I receive an email from a PR. Nothing unusual there, you would think. A split second later I realise there are only 16 words, and that the sentence takes the tone of a direct order. "HE Mohammed Al Hashimi would like to speak to you and you alone on Tuesday at 2pm."

I sit back to take stock of what this meant for a minute or two. It has only been three months since I last met the then-CEO of UAE home finance company Amlak, and two months since I last met his successors after the company made huge profit losses. This coincided with the resignation of His Excellency Mohammed Al Hashimi. "So why now?" I am completely puzzled.

"I just like the magazine and the way it's written, I always read it on the plane and show other passengers and colleagues," he reveals, flatteringly. But that can't be the only reason why he wants me to sit in his plush office overlooking some of Dubai's most expensive plots of land, in and around the Dubai's financial district.

"I've got a lot to tell you and I don't want to tell anyone else."

Music to my ears and what any journalist loves to have bounced back to his notepad.

"I almost bought 20% of Liverpool Football Club alongside Dubai International Capital in February earlier this year," he adds. The joint bid, however, failed to materialise and on February 6 the club was instead bought for US$432.9m by Dallas businessman, Texas Rangers baseball team and National Hockey League Dallas Stars owner Tom Hicks and his friend and Montreal Canadiens hockey team owner George Gillett Jr.

Since then however, speculation has mounted over which potential clubs Al Hashimi, in his new role as executive chairman of the year-old Zabeel Investments, could bid for. When we meet I suggest Arsenal Football Club, a team that has seen great success, and is one of the few top-flight clubs not to have been snapped up by a billion-dollar foreign owner, and with a stadium sponsored by Dubai's own Emirates Airline. Surely there must be a coincidence there, I ask? So is he looking to invest in the north London team any time soon? Al Hashimi refuses to discount a future bid, and instead replies that it is a "very profitable club", but that Arsenal FC's board is "very reluctant to sell". So again, does this mean he's made an attempt to buy a stake, and does this mean he's been in touch with his solicitors?

"A US gentleman recently purchased 10% of the club for US$65m, that makes the club worth US$650m, that's hefty. But it has ample real estate around the surrounding area and they've just redeveloped Highbury Square," he says intriguingly, still hinting at some form of financial interest.

"Think of what the existing shareholders at Arsenal paid and what their shares are worth now. Even the smaller clubs are being bought left, right and centre. But look at the Premiership, its revenues are set to double next year, there must be something going on and money to be made.

"There's a reason why Showtime paid US$120m, these people aren't stupid. They're going to benefit, maybe not directly but from the amount of viewers or other areas," he adds.

But Al Hashimi is more than just a football fan and Zabeel Investments is so much more than a potential investment vehicle for football clubs.

"These companies have been fighting for some time, competition is rife here between government-owned companies and against local and international banks," he says, talking about his time at Amlak.

"The only time when they were on their own was during the first two years when the market hadn't actually started to get going. Competition isn't new, it's just now happening to come to the forefront of things. It's a huge market, the issue you have is capacity, there's not enough competition out there. Even two or three players can't sustain the market."

The highly regarded young UAE executive thrives on competition as do his peers and their companies in the Gulf. Al Hashimi is part of a generation that was sent to either the US or the UK to go to business schools and universities where the essence of competing on an intellectual, as well as physical level (on the sports field) is drilled into you as soon as you arrive.

The property market, however, is still close to his heart, especially as he is heavily involved with various investments across the UAE including Tiara Hotels and Resorts - a new luxury hospitality concept being launched in the UAE, with the aim of opening and operating a number of iconic "installations" in key locations in the local, regional and international marketplace.

Al Hashimi, however, still has some major bugbears when it comes to property development in the Emirates. "There isn't supply. You give me the supply and you'll see the difference," he says candidly.

"How much supply is still under construction? You have the three largest developers in town, and of them only one has delivered until now. The Palm Jumeirah is delivering bits and bobs, Jumeirah Beach Residence is slow and only delivering now. You have to wait until all the Palms are delivered, Dubailand, you look at all of that and it's huge."

It's no wonder he moved from a loss making and restructuring mortgage company that still has a lot to learn and develop before it gets serious, to a young, dynamic and fast-paced investment business where risks maybe high but profits are even higher.

"The mortgage market is all about the long-term picture. It's about a 25-year mortgage. It's not like the real estate industry where I build today, it takes two years to build, I can pre-sell if I want, I'm making money from day one, by the time two years is over I've booked my profit, I've done exceptionally well.

"With a mortgage if I'm giving you one million dirhams I'm going to be getting that money back in 25 years. I'm making money, but instead of one million I'm probably getting two and a half million, but I'm getting it over 25 years. It's an income that's going to be slow and steady and one that is dependent on margins and these margins are thin."