Daud Arabian, Majid Al Futtaim form JV

Daud Arabian and Majid Al Futtaim Ventures LLC will form a partnership covering their investments in Gourmet Gulf Company, a food and beverage restaurant company in the Middle East.

Gourmet Gulf, headquartered in Dubai, holds the exclusive development and franchise rights in several Middle East markets for brands that include California Pizza Kitchen, Morelli's Gelato, YO! Sushi and Hummingbird Bakery. It currently operates 25 F&B outlets across the Gulf.  Founded by Daud Arabian in 2006, the company is led by CEO Sami Daud. 

"The Middle East and surrounding markets are experiencing some of the fastest growth in the world, particularly in the food industry. This partnership enables Gourmet Gulf to scale our operations and propel our rate of expansion in a dynamic, but considerate manner to maintain our leading position in the F&B franchising sector," said Mr Daud.

For Majid Al Futtaim Ventures, this joint venture is its first entry into the Middle East food and beverage market. The company operates as the growth engine driving new enterprise development for Majid Al Futtaim Holding.

"This is a landmark partnership as our first investment in the Middle East F&B sector, said its CEO Ahmed Galal Ismail. “Gourmet Gulf is a very well respected operator with an exceptional portfolio of brands and a solid track record in the region.  Combining this with our retail expertise makes for a compelling alliance, and we are confident of mutual success."

Gourmet Gulf is scheduled to open over 10 restaurants in the next six months.  Mr Daud said, "Our objective is to have well over 100 outlets in operation by 2020, a goal that we are well on our way to achieving.  In addition to the opening of new outlets of our existing franchise brands, we are also in the final stages of signing a number of new concepts for the region which will launch very early next year."  

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