Yacht manufacturer moves into real estate

(SUPPLIED)   

Ferretti Group, a leading luxury yachts manufacturer, is set to partner ACI Real Estate to build a shoreline property in Dubai.

The Dh6 billion project called Marine Legend at Nakheel’s Dubai Waterfront will be the first real estate venture for Ferretti.

Vincenzo Cannatelli, CEO of the Ferretti Group, told Emirates Business he believes there is great potential in the real estate sector, especially in the East, and the group is keen to get involved.

“We are not getting directly involved in the real-estate business, but participating with right partners to improve our presence,” Cannatelli said when asked what part his group would play in the deal. The real estate sector, he said, directly complements the yacht industry by way of accelerating business.

Canatelli (pictured above, left) said: “The growth of waterfront properties in Dubai will definitely accelerate our business in the region. In fact, many customers of ACI Real Estate are our potential customers too and would be interested in owning one of our yachts.”

Cannatelli added the group is expecting to increase its yacht sales from the current 30 a year in the UAE to something between 50 to 100 yachts a year within the next five years.

“We have been thinking of the UAE as our next destination for international expansion. The market offers a special platform with a sound business environment that facilitates global business and investment. “Dubai is well poised to become a leading global business capital and we are happy to join ACI to be part of this invigorating phase of growth,” he declared.

The Ferretti Group has a portfolio of the most exclusive brands in the nautical world: Ferretti Yachts, Pershing, Itama, Bertram, Riva, Apreamare, Mochi Craft, Custom Line and CRN. It is currently present in 95 countries and has three representative branches in Europe, the United States and Asia.

Robin Lohmann (pictured above, right), Managing Director of ACI Real Estate based in Germany, said the property will create new trends in luxury waterfront residence in the emirate.

“Marine Legends reflects growing demand for high-end residences and concurrently aims at providing an appropriate setting that unifies the requirements and aspirations of Dubai to appreciate the waterline and improved water canal systems,” Lohmann said.

The project is expected to be completed within the next 36 months.

Lohmann added: “There has been a lot of infrastructure development at the Dubai Waterfront, and I think it is a realistic scenario to complete the project within the scheduled time as we have already started working on the design.”

Marine Legends will comprise three twin towers and will be designed with yachting elements blended in into it. Architects from both partners will co-ordinate on the design and some of the towers will be named after the Ferretti brands.

Lohmann said the company would be securing more properties in the Dubai Waterfront in the future. “We have already crossed Dh10 billion in turnover in this year. We will be diversifying our portfolio by securing our market share in emirates such as Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah as well as Dubai, where new developments are happening.”

The father and son team of Uwe and Robin Lohmann of ACI Group have already injected an investment of more than Dh1bn into property projects in the emirate.