Read our insights

M&A continued to prosper in the first five months of 2022 after a record-breaking year in 2021, although the 16 June 2022 US Federal Reserve Bank interest rate increase coupled with increased macroeconomic uncertainty marked a significant turning point for the global deal market.

Heading towards the new year, food security remains on top of the agenda for the region, while enhancements in food tech, and the continued rise of meat and dairy alternatives providing have proved to be a nifty tool to combat lingering supply chain and labor shortages and addressing food security.

Despite the recent global market downturn and recession fears, economic sentiment remains strong within the GCC region on the back of growth in the tourism and oil.

Spurred on by government initiatives and the emergence from COVID-19, the GCC IPO markets are now seeing unprecedented levels of activity, captivating institutional and retail investors alike.

Q1 has seen a continued rise in deal activity in a number of sectors within our M&A and Transactions Advisory team. Following on from our Q4 2021 update, we are delighted to share this quarter's Food & Beverage (F&B) edition, summarising key themes, issues and activity in the sector. It has been a busy start to the year in F&B across the GCC and broader MENA region and we will continue to watch closely throughout the year.

Read this month’s Hospitality Newsletter where our team of experts have gathered updates and shared insights on the UAE and GCC’s Hospitality landscape. Explore the updates affecting Indirect Tax, International Tax and Transfer Pricing.

Grant Thornton UAE audits the operations and processes of more than 80 hotels every year. Based on our observations while performing such internal audits, we summarise here below 5 of the most common emerging issues that have been recorded.

The UAE hotel sector has been increasingly overestimating the market demand over the past few years and as such, has been suffering from an oversupply of hotel keys.

Since VAT was implemented in the UAE more than 6 months ago, how has the hospitality sector fared and how can it improve VAT compliance?

How can hoteliers in the UAE generate new business and grow their existing market in this age of tech-disruption, shifting socio dynamics and evolving guest preferences?

The hotel industry is going through a period of unprecedented, irreversible change and will look very different in 2020 than it does today.