R Hotels, the hospitality division of Ajman-based R Holding, has secured funds worth Dh204 million ($55.5 million) from Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD), to back the development of its recently announced property in Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, UAE.

The fund is part of R Hotel’s Dh500 million ($136 million) hotel investment at The Palm, which is set to open in the last quarter of 2016.

Located at The East Crescent of The Palm, the new four-star resort and spa will feature 259 rooms, and leisure and wellbeing facilities.

The first phase of the construction will start in the first quarter of 2015 and the group targets the fourth quarter of 2016 as its completion date.

Sumair Tariq, managing director of R Hotels, said: “By capitalising on strategic hotel locations in the UAE, R Hotels is confident on the stable return of investments of all our projects in the pipeline, especially our property in Palm Jumeirah. We are pleased to have CBD on board, to guarantee that the project is backed by an established financial institution.”

Alain Renaud, general manager corporate, Commercial and Investment Banking for CBD, said: “The hospitality market is witnessing increased growth in the UAE, and CBD is committed to supporting the sector’s development given its strategic importance to the UAE’s economy and its contribution to GDP growth. In recent years R Holding/ R Hotels has emerged as a major participant in the hotel sector and we are delighted to support the company in the development of its prestigious new project in Palm Jumeirah.”

R Hotels currently owns and manages four properties in the UAE which are Ramada Hotel and Suites Ajman, Ramada Beach Hotel Ajman, Ramada Downtown Dubai, and Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham in Jumeirah Beach Residence. The group will open its fifth hotel in Jumeirah in Q2 2015, and the said project at The Palm will be its sixth property in the UAE. – TradeArabia News Service