Author: Stuart

AtkinsRéalis and Futurecity signed their partnership agreement on 24 March at MIPIM 2026 in Dubai. Within hours, the two firms had begun outlining plans for the Futurecity Lab, a joint research platform designed to feed cultural intelligence directly into engineering and masterplanning projects across the Gulf. The memorandum of understanding pairs a global design and engineering firm with roots stretching back to 1911 with a London-based cultural placemaking agency that has shaped more than 400 projects since 2007. Together, they’re betting that the next wave of Middle Eastern urban development will reward projects that embed cultural identity from the earliest…

The Dubai-based facilities management company is making its full range of maintenance services available to external clients for the first time European Technical, a facilities management and property maintenance company based in Dubai, has expanded its services to residential landlords, property managers, and commercial operators across the UAE. The company was founded to serve a large private real estate portfolio covering properties on Palm Jumeirah, Blue Waters, Jumeirah Village Circle, and in Abu Dhabi. That background gives it a practical foundation that most independent maintenance providers have not had the opportunity to build. Institutional Standards, Now Available to All European…

Private equity has always been a demanding industry. Senior partners are expected to make high-stakes decisions quickly, manage complex transactions, maintain investor relationships, and guide portfolio companies through periods of growth and uncertainty. The role has never been small. But as private equity firms expand across borders and portfolios become more complex, another constraint is beginning to surface — one that rarely appears in industry discussions. Leadership bandwidth. Many firms are discovering that the real pressure point is not opportunity or capital. It is the amount of cognitive capacity senior leaders actually have available to process information, make decisions, and…

More than one million books lined the halls of Dubai Studio City when Big Bad Wolf Books closed its doors on 18th March, capping what organisers called the highest attendance in the event’s history. The warehouse-style sale ran for days under a theme borrowed from contemporary anxiety: “beyond noise.” Families came early. Many stayed for hours. Andrew Yap, who co-founded the Malaysia-based operation in 2009, watched the numbers climb throughout the fortnight. “We are happy to deliver a remarkable showcase this time with the highest participation in the history of the Big Bad Wolf,” he said following the final day.…

Investors queued outside the sales office as Ohana Development opened bookings for its Manchester City-branded waterfront community last weekend. By Monday morning, the tally stood at $1.63 billion—a new record for Abu Dhabi’s property market. The figure represents the fastest residential sales cycle the emirate has witnessed. Manchester City Yas Residences by Ohana, positioned along Yas Canal, attracted buyers from 47 countries across three days in mid-March. Thirty-five per cent of purchasers were Emirati nationals. The remaining 65% came from expatriate and international investors, according to data released by the developer on 17th March 2026. Ohana Development now plans to…

Princess and Bella have their own menu at PrinBella Café in Jumeirah Village Circle. Not a children’s menu—a dog menu. Complete with treats and special drinks served at floor level. The two Maltese dogs are the reason this place exists at all. Sylwia Krawczyk built the café around them after relocating from London, where she’d spent years running a beauty salon. The pivot from blow-drys to pour-overs wasn’t planned, but once she arrived in Dubai with Princess and Bella in tow, the idea crystallised. She’d struggled to find coffee spots that genuinely welcomed her dogs—not just tolerated them with a…

Across the UAE, companies are redesigning their offices to match new ways of working. From flexible layouts to technology-driven environments, the modern office is evolving rapidly. Workspace specialists such as urban 411 office furniture note that one of the biggest transformations is happening at the desk level, where design, ergonomics, and technology are coming together to create smarter workstations. The office desk has traditionally been viewed as a simple piece of furniture. Today, however, it plays a much larger role in shaping productivity and employee wellbeing. Modern desk designs are built to support different working styles, integrate digital tools, and…

On 17 March, BHM Capital flicked the switch on market making operations in Bahrain—the UAE firm’s latest move in a cross-border expansion linking Gulf exchanges. The Dubai-based financial institution cleared final regulatory and technical hurdles with Bahraini authorities before launching. The move extends BHM’s liquidity provision beyond its home UAE market. Market making—the practice of continuously quoting buy and sell prices to facilitate trading—aims to tighten spreads and deepen order books on Bahrain Bourse. For the exchange, the addition brings another active participant committed to quoting prices throughout trading sessions, which theoretically improves price discovery and reduces volatility during thin…

A team of vascular surgeons from Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in New Delhi will treat patients at C37 in Dubai following a partnership signed on 16 March. The agreement brings expertise in limb salvage, complex arterial disease and advanced endovascular procedures to the UAE’s first private medical workspace. C37, operated by Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC), has partnered with the Institute of Vascular & Endovascular Sciences (IVES) at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, a quaternary care facility in India. Surge Growth Partners, a healthcare advisory firm, brokered the collaboration. The surgeons joining C37 will handle cases including diabetic foot complications requiring limb…

NAFFCO Group struck a joint venture with Verona Shelters on Thursday, betting that governments across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa will keep spending heavily on protective infrastructure. The Dubai-based safety engineering giant and the Finnish shelter specialist announced plans to scale production of military-grade civil defence systems for what they described as surging international demand. The announcement, from NAFFCO’s UAE headquarters, came as civil protection budgets climb across target markets. Both firms declined to disclose financial terms or production timelines. What they will build: next-generation shelter systems engineered to withstand emergencies, crises and extreme conditions. The joint venture…