Last November marked a comeback for Kabir Mulchandani, the SKAI Holdings boss who opened his largest project, the Viceroy Palm Jumeirah Dubai. Valued at more than $1bn, the hotel claims to have created a new level of luxury on the man-made island that already commands some of the highest rents in Dubai.
The launch of the Viceroy is part of plans by SKAI to revamp its offer. In March 2015, the company said it would upgrade its 60-storey Jumeirah Village Circle project to a five-star luxury property and rebrand it Viceroy Dubai Jumeirah Village following the signing of Viceroy Hotel Group as its hotel operator.
Mulchandani told Arabian Business in January that he adopts an intuitive approach to business, which tends to pay off. Of the Palm project, he said: “My first challenge when I purchased the land was whether there would be demand. Though intuitively I felt it, convincing others was very challenging.”
However, given his success at financing these projects — many of which have involved some of China’s largest banks, including Bank of China and Commercial Bank of China — Mulchandani can be expected to launch more big-name projects over the coming year.
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