DXB ENTERTAINMENTS APPOINTS NEW CFO

 BY GABRIELLE


DXB Entertainments, the Dubai-headquartered leisure and entertainment company which operates Legoland and other attractions, has appointed a new chief financial officer (CFO).

The new appointment follows the resignation of John Ireland. During Ireland’s tenure, DXB Entertainments enjoyed its first quarter of profitability, in the fourth quarter of 2019.

Remi Ishak has taken the place of John Ireland as the company’s CFO. Ishak is an experienced financial leader, who worked in a similar role for the asset management company, Emirates Real Estate Investment Trust.

Ishak has been involved in the real estate and hospitality industries for more than 15 years, focused on diverse projects, including operational repositioning and management and deal structuring and acquisitions.

Speaking about the appointment, Mohammed Al Mulla, managing director and CEO of DXB Entertainments’ parent company, Dubai Parks & Resorts, said: “At DXBE, he will be responsible for the continued implementation of our strategy as well as helping guide us through the currently challenging operating environment.”

DXB ENTERTAINMENTS ANNOUNCE MIXED RESULTS FOR H1

BY GABRIELLE

DXB Entertainments, operator of Dubai parks and resorts, has announced mixed results for the first half of 2019.

During Q2, visitor numbers were up five per cent but had dropped slightly overall in H1. In Q2, the number of visits to Dubai parks and resorts increased by 641,000 compared to the second quarter in 2018.  However, overall in the first half of 2019, DXB Entertainments’ visitor numbers experienced a drop from 1.46 million in 2018 to 1.4 million.

40 per cent of total visitation came from international guests staying at the resorts’ Lapita Hotel, indicating an increase in occupation to 63 per cent, a notable rise compared to the first half of 2018’s 55 per cent.

In June 2019, Dubai’s largest integrated theme park resort opened its second onsite hotel, the 579-room Rove at the Park Hotel. The new accommodation is part of the company’s drive to have more than 1,300 rooms available for guests by the second half of 2020.

DXB Entertainments’ CEO and managing director, Mohamed Almulla, commented on the mixed results so far for 2019.

“We increased international visitation to 40 per cent of the total visitor mix during the first half of the year, in line with our strategy to drive growth through targeting tourists.

“The ability for international visitors to stay at our destination as part of a bundled hotel package deal is becoming increasingly important, as evidence by the steady growth in occupancy at Lapita,” Almulla added.

SIX FLAGS TO RECEIVE $7.5 MILLION FROM DXB ENTERTAINMENTS

BY GABRIELLE

Six Flags, the US theme operator, is to be given $7.5 million from DXB Entertainment, the Dubai-based operator of leisure and entertainment destinations and experiences.

The pay-out has been arranged after DXB pulled out of plans for a Dubai Six Flags site due to financing for the project no longer being available. The decision was made during a meeting with shareholders in April this year.

DXB agreed to pay compensation to Six Flags for pulling out of the project, with DXB retaining first refusal rights for the use of Six Flags’ intellectual property in the UAE for five years.

In May 2019, DXB Entertainments revealed a $58.73 million loss on its operations.

Six Flags is planning for a project to go ahead in Saudi Arabia.