Solid foundations

Companies specialising in property development and management abound in the region these days, with more springing up on an almost daily basis. So when you find one that has been around for over two decades it is worth digging a little deeper. Elaine Jones, CEO and co-founder of Asteco, is something of a living legend on the UAE's property scene. Since moving to Dubai in 1980; "I remember it was the first day of Ramadan, July 13th", Jones has seen sweeping changes overtake the regional real estate markets, from the initial mass development of private villas and houses, to the commercial and residential tower boom. As a mark of her achievements she was named Middle East Businesswoman of the Year 2007 at a regional ceremony in March of this year: "I was very honoured, the calibre of women there was just incredible," she says.

From its beginnings as a leasing and property management company Asteco has expanded to include all the major areas of the property industry, while simultaneously taking part in some of the most innovative developments sweeping the region, including the Palm Jumeirah.

"I actually started working at another company," Jones smiles, "my husband and I had decided to move out here with a view to staying for only two years, and we were newlyweds so we didn't have much money and this job had a car with it. I thought ‘Wow, that's a good move, take that job it has a car'!" That first part-time role, which involved showing people new villas, was Jones' first foray into the property world. "It wasn't quite enough for me, so I moved into the property management side. The first property I managed was Mansoor Tower, it's been renamed Dubai Tower now, but it was Mansoor Tower in the early 80s," she says, underscoring her longevity in the Dubai market. "So I learnt the property business through actually doing it, it was experience rather than qualifications."

Jones left her first company when a batch of new staff where brought in from the UK that she felt did not fit in with the local market. Soon after, she was introduced to Mohammed Ben Sulayem after speaking to a number of people about getting a real estate license to open her own business. "My husband Russell actually encouraged me to go into business for myself," Jones explains. "He thought that I had a certain work ethic that would be best rewarded by going into business for me rather than for other people. Of course, I was also lucky enough to have the huge advantage of being able to take risks and develop the business because I had a husband in gainful employment!"

Not having to worry about its success allowed Jones to pour more effort into her new venture: "In my opinion when anybody starts a business with that sort of edict that ‘I'm going to do this because I enjoy it and I'm going to do it well or I'm not going to this at all' it means that you can approach it from a completely different attitude to someone who's doing it just for the income."

Mohammed introduced Jones to Sultan Bin Sulayem, who was then taking up the chairmanship of the Jebel Ali Free Zone. As he would have less time to spend on managing the family assets he was open to the idea and Asteco was born out of Ahmed Sulayem Trading Enterprises Company. "But saying Ahmed Sulayem Trading Enterprises Company every time you answered the phone was a bit of a mouthful for this little English girl out of Hertfordshire," Jones laughs. "So the next license renewal was made under Asteco Property Management, in addition to the original one."

Asteco was formally founded on 8 March 1985, a date that Jones notes is coincidentally now celebrated as International Women's Day. Despite suppositions to the contrary Jones does not feel that she faced any gender discrimination. On the contrary: "I was always very welcome, I made some extremely good friends, many of whom today are very influential people. Dubai was very different, we were young and in those days we had time to sit and talk. Some elements of life I believe were better but of course many were not - it was a different world."

Jones is certain that the regional events that unfolded around the emirate over the next two decades; the Iran-Iraq war, the invasion of Kuwait and Gulf War, the invasion of Iraq, help make Dubai into a stronger place for businesses to thrive by showing that it could keep itself outside the upheavals. Asteco grew alongside the emirate. "In the beginning I did everything, make the tea, the whole lot! There were only two of us you see. We started with property management, then leasing was a natural function because you need to keep your property occupied. Management is our core activity because it gives you the trends of what is happening in the market, and allows us to give real-time advice to clients as to what they should build and where."

A sign of the evolution is that from solely block management, the company now deals with individual properties and owners and is developing a ‘strata' wing for the equivalent of tenant's association ownership.

"Also when we started the market was wholly GCC-owned property, primarily Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Kuwait," explains Jones. "They would own entire blocks and the rental returns would pay for the buildings very quickly in those days. It's changed a lot now, we've seen the market's ups and downs."

The 1990s saw Asteco become involved in the development of retail premises beginning with The Centre, which led to Deira City Centre and Wafi City amongst others. Other projects included residential opportunities in Dubai such as the Gardens - and the Palm Jumeirah (one of the original schematic drawings hangs proudly framed above her desk): "I don't remember what it was called in those days. Of course it didn't look like a palm, it was just two islands, but the whole thing was very confidential," Jones says. "I have to say that I am lucky, very few people would have had the opportunity that I was given to be involved in a project like that. There are few places in the world where such a development would have been conceived, built and occupied in such a short space of time."

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