Five Holding

Developer overview

FIVE Holdings is a Dubai-based real estate development and hospitality group. The company began in 2011 under the name SKAI Holdings and took the FIVE Holdings name in 2017, according to its website. Unlike most developers on DPF, FIVE both builds and operates its properties: it owns and runs hotels in Dubai and Zurich, and its Dubai buildings combine hotel operations with homes that can be bought.

FIVE's development page says the group keeps key early-stage functions in-house, such as procurement, budgeting, accounting, managing the project and supervising the site. For buyers, the more relevant point is that a FIVE property is usually tied to an active hotel and entertainment operation, which shapes how the building is run, what owners pay and how units can be used.

Portfolio and locations

FIVE's development portfolio lists the following Dubai properties:

• FIVE Palm Jumeirah – completed in 2016, built around a large glass cube lobby looking out over the sea towards the Dubai Marina skyline. See Palm Jumeirah listings and the Palm Jumeirah area guide.
• FIVE Jumeirah Village – completed in 2019 in Jumeirah Village Circle, known for its corkscrew-shaped tower and "Villas in the Sky" with landscaped gardens and private pools. See Jumeirah Village Circle listings.
• FIVE LUXE JBR – a beachfront building that FIVE acquired partly built in August 2023 and launched on 31 March 2024. The design team reoriented residences and hotel rooms towards Palm Jumeirah and the beach. See Jumeirah Beach Residence listings and the JBR area guide.
• Sensoria at FIVE LUXE – the residential collection within FIVE LUXE JBR, with three- to five-bedroom homes on a private beach.

FIVE also owns FIVE Zurich in Switzerland, which is outside the scope of DPF listings.

Property types

FIVE buildings hold a mix of hotel rooms, serviced units and residences. Sensoria at FIVE LUXE offers three-, four- and five-bedroom homes with interiors by the design practice ae7, ceilings of about 3.5 metres, ocean-facing pools and plunge pools, concierge services and robotic car parking. FIVE Jumeirah Village features sky villas with private pools and gardens. Units in these buildings can be registered differently, so the title deed decides what you are buying.

What buyers should verify

1. Registered use. Check whether the unit is registered as a residential apartment or as a hotel unit, as this affects how it can be lived in, let and financed.
2. Operator arrangements. Ask whether the unit is part of a hotel rental programme, what the contract terms are and whether a new owner can leave or must continue it.
3. Running costs. Hotel-linked buildings can carry higher running costs than ordinary residential towers. Ask for the latest owners' association and operator statements.
4. The exact building. FIVE Palm Jumeirah, FIVE Jumeirah Village and FIVE LUXE JBR are separate buildings in different communities; confirm the building on the documents.

Finding distressed and below-market FIVE properties

A distressed property in Dubai at a FIVE building is usually a completed unit whose owner wants out, for example to free capital, leave a hotel programme or settle a loan. A motivated seller may advertise an urgent sale or invite cash buyer deals, especially where banks lend cautiously on hotel units. When the asking price is lower than what the seller originally paid the developer, the listing is described as below original price (below OP). Below market value compares the price with recent sales of similar units in the same building, which matters because units with different views or registrations can differ widely.

For homes at FIVE LUXE JBR and Sensoria that are still being paid for, a sale may be an off-plan resale or assignment, where the buyer takes over the payment plan and the seller's Oqood registration is transferred into the buyer's name. In either case, ask for the developer's statement of account showing any outstanding balance, confirm whether a bank holds a mortgage, and check that the developer will issue the NOC the Dubai Land Department needs to register the sale. Read the operator agreement too, because a distress sale does not cancel obligations attached to the unit.