Why business is booming at Capital Club Dubai

“You only need to look at my background to see all the crazy things that I’ve done in my life, but this is by far the craziest,” he said, during an exclusive interview with Arabian Business.

At university in Glasgow, back in the 1950s, Al Junaidy helped build the Clyde Tunnel, while his business exploits closer to home took off in 1975 when he founded Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC). Prior to that he was the youngest ever Gulf CEO of Caltex (now Chevron).

Al Junaidy was CEO of ENOC through until 2007, by which time he had amassed a portfolio of 32 companies.

By this time he had also been involved in the first proper business club in the country, the Passport Club by Dubai Creek. He had already garnered membership of the RAC Club, In-and-Out Club and East India Club in London. He would also be involved in the club in Dubai’s World Trade Centre, launched a decade later.

But it was in DIFC where he saw the greatest potential. He said: “I knew the need was there for a members club, certainly in the UAE, because there were a lot of expatriates, a lot of business people and people who wanted to connect with others, who wanted to meet with everybody.”

And almost 14 years ago Capital Club Dubai was launched, with Al Junaidy as a founding member with a seat on the board. It has been a turbulent time, to say the least, with the fortunes of the club almost mirroring that of the country’s economic headwinds.

In 2014, in particular, when the regional oil market plummeted, membership levels, made up of a vast array of industry professionals and nationalities, fell to around 1,000, down from the heights of 1,500 experienced previously. With annual rent in the region of AED9m, liabilities spiralled.

Capital Club Dubai was 51 percent owned by Signature Clubs International (SCI), and when it was unable to provide the necessary funding to keep the establishment’s doors open, Al Junaidy stepped forth.

It is understood the Emirati has poured millions of dirhams of his own personal wealth into keeping the club afloat – some AED11m was identified immediately as funding to refurbish the club.

He explained: “I had to do everything humanly possible, through my own funds, to keep it going.”

Al Junaidy, who is set to turn 84 next month, revealed he has “lived” at the Capital Club Dubai for the last two-and-a-half years, working from 8am through to 11pm on many occasions, to ensure that it not only survived, but thrived.

“It was hard, but I persevered. I never gave up despite all sorts of problems,” he said.

And he believes he has not only seen the light at the end of the tunnel, but has passed through it to the other side. Memberships are edging closer to 1,000, with a target to hit 1,500 by the end of next year. Indeed, the club has witnessed, on average, 30 new members per month for the last three months, as it benefits from business-friendly reforms announced by both the UAE and Dubai authorities.

Al Junaidy said: “When you look at what’s happened in the UAE in the last few years, the full force of trying to be known worldwide, not only from an economic point of view, everything, from going to space and hosting the World Expo, it’s welcoming businesses and opening up.

“In the last few years you’ve really seen the government is keen to interact with the private sector. Therefore there has to be a place where they could exchange ideas.

“I look at it now and I think we’re over the hump. We’ve managed to get a lot of members, from the people who are still here and never left, as well as new members.”

Capital Club membership includes accomplished businesspeople, business innovators, women in business, high-level entrepreneurs, government officials, diplomats, ambassadors and consulate generals, and leaders in the creative industries.

With the cost of membership standing at AED15,000 per year, which includes a number of benefits, including two free rounds of golf at the Els Club in Dubai, per month, the club has become a focal point for the business community.

“This is an institution. It’s not a bank or a financial centre to make money. It’s to serve the community, not only the community of DIFC, the Dubai community, the UAE and beyond,” said Al Junaidy.

Some important conversations and engagements over recent months include a deeper examination of the Metaverse and the digital economy; Cryptocurrency, blockchain, NFTs; UAE & Saudi Arabia; Impact of AI on society; Female founders, enablers, investors; Why are ESG metrics critical; The business of music and IP; Corporate governance leadership eorkshops; Circular economy.

While guest speakers from the public and private sector have included, Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, UAE Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence; Dr Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, UAE Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and SMEs; Abdulla bin Touq Al Mari, UAE Minister of Economy; Dr Abdullah Al Nuaimi, former Minister of Climate Change and Environment; Hanan Ahli, acting director of the Federal Competitiveness and Statistic Centre; Mitch Lowe former CEO, Movie Pass, former president, RedBox and co-founder, Netflix; and Chris Voss ex FBI hostage negotiator.

Admittedly, there is tough competition out there, particularly close by in the shape of the Arts Club, which opened its doors at ICD Brookfield Place a year ago.

But Al Junaidy remained undaunted. He said: “This is a totally different concept. It’s a club for the members who see benefit in terms of developing their business and connecting with others.”

The Capital Club Dubai is also extending its global footprint, with 130 recipricol clubs throughout the world and 40 agreements signed in the last month alone, the last one with a club in Washington DC.

There are also plans to create borderless clubs, where members from other clubs can enjoy access seamlessly.

Al Junaidy said: “Today, if you said to me, is this club viable, I’ll tell you yes, it is viable. And it’s still my dream is to make this club the number one exclusive businessperson’s club in the whole region.”