Dubai-based developer Nakheel has announced that it is creating a new business division called Nakheel Hospitality & Leisure. Headed by newly-appointed managing director Thorsten Ries, the new division will oversee the development and operations of Nakheel’s growing number of hotels, clubs, and community recreation centres.  

The developer is building a 240-room hotel at Dragon Mart, as part of its major expansion of the China-themed mall, a five-star, 40-storey hotel that will form part of the Nakheel Mall and Hotel complex on Palm Jumeirah and an economy hotel at Ibn Battuta Mall.

The company said it has more hotels in its project pipeline, but did not provide details. Earlier this week, the developer said it had sold two hotel plots on Palm Jumeirah’s crescent for a combined total of nearly AED700m ($190.5m).

Nakheel also owns and operates a growing number of recreation and leisure clubs, including Jumeirah Islands Club, Jebel Ali Club and the Shoreline Beach Clubs on Palm Jumeirah.

In June, the developer announced that it is creating a new 608,000-square feet waterfront recreational area, Jumeirah Islands Park, which will contain a parkland and community centre with 10 shops including a supermarket, a fitness centre, and sports courts.

The announcement coincided with the developer’s launch of 84 new townhouses at its Jumeirah Islands project. The four-bedroom townhouses, each of which will have around 3,630 square feet of space, will range in price from AED3.95m ($1.07m) to AED4.86m, depending on plot size, location and view. Nakheel said 40 per cent of the townhouses have already been sold, with a combined sales value of AED140m.