The First Group
Considering The First Group distress deals or The First Group below market properties? This guide explains the developer's hotel-room ownership model, its Holiday Inn property in JVC and other Dubai hotels, what urgent sale, motivated seller and below original price listings mean here, and the title, NOC and outstanding balance checks before a resale or cash buyer deals.
Developer overview
The First Group is unusual among Dubai developers because its main product is not a conventional apartment. The company, headquartered in Barsha Heights, describes itself as a hospitality real estate developer active since 2005. Its signature idea is selling hotel rooms, suites and serviced apartments to individual owners: buyers own a unit inside a hotel that is run by an operator, rather than a home they live in themselves.
Alongside development, the group lists hospitality, asset management, food and beverage brands and leisure venues among its activities, and names Rob Burns as chief executive. For a resale buyer, that structure matters. The unit you buy sits inside a working hotel, so the operator's arrangements are as important as the bricks and mortar.
Portfolio and locations
The group's properties page covers several Dubai districts:
- Holiday Inn Dubai Village Circle, Jumeirah Village Circle – an IHG-branded hotel with an outdoor rooftop pool, a fitness centre, a spa, an all-day restaurant and a café. The developer's gallery for this property is titled Avalon, and DPF files its listing here as a studio hotel apartment in Avalon Tower. See JVC listings and the JVC area guide.
- Business Bay – The First Collection Business Bay, The First Collection Waterfront near Dubai Canal, and Grand Millennium Business Bay. See Business Bay listings.
- Dubai Marina – The First Collection Marina, Millennium Place Marina and the Ciel tower project. See Dubai Marina listings.
- Barsha Heights – TRYP by Wyndham, close to the group's headquarters. See the Barsha Heights area guide.
- Dubai Sports City, Studio City and JVT – The First Collection at Dubai Sports City, a pre-launch project in Dubai Studio City and The One at JVT. See Dubai Sports City listings, Studio City listings and JVT listings.
The group also shows a project in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, which falls outside this page.
Property types
Most First Group stock is hotel units: studios, guest rooms and suites that form part of a hotel's inventory. Some properties are described as serviced apartments. These are not interchangeable with ordinary flats. Whether you can live in the unit, let it yourself or only receive income through the hotel depends on the documents attached to it, so read them before treating a hotel studio as a home.
What buyers should verify
- The title and its use. Check whether the title deed or Oqood records the unit as a hotel apartment and whether any use restrictions apply.
- The operator agreement. Ask for the hotel management or rental pool agreement, how long it runs and whether a new owner must stay in it.
- Running costs and owner charges. Ask the seller for recent owner statements and confirm there are no unpaid amounts on the unit.
- Balance due. For an off-plan hotel unit, request the developer's statement of account showing what has been paid under the payment plan and what is outstanding.
- Developer and operator consent. Find out who issues the NOC for the building and whether the hotel operator must also sign off on a sale.
Finding distressed and below-market The First Group properties
Hotel units come up for resale for many reasons. An owner might want capital back for a different purchase, may be unhappy with the income the hotel has produced, or may simply have reached the end of a planned holding period. When the need is pressing, the owner becomes a motivated seller, and the unit may be advertised as an urgent sale. A price under the figure in the original contract with The First Group makes it a below original price, or below OP, listing; below market value instead compares it with recent sales of similar units in the same hotel.
If the hotel is still being built, the deal is an off-plan resale, or assignment, and the buyer takes on any instalments that remain. For a completed unit, the Dubai Land Department will transfer the title only once the developer's NOC is issued and any mortgage is cleared. Cash buyer deals avoid a bank valuation, which can matter for hotel stock, but every clearance still applies. DPF shows these listings so buyers can compare them and does not set or vouch for any asking price.
Frequently asked questions
What does The First Group sell?
It focuses on hotel unit ownership: individual guest rooms, suites and serviced apartments inside hotels it develops in Dubai.
Where is Holiday Inn Dubai Village Circle?
The First Group places it in Jumeirah Village Circle. DPF has listed units in the same building under the name Avalon Tower, which also appears in the hotel gallery.
Can I buy The First Group property below the original price?
Hotel units are sometimes resold under their first purchase price when an owner wants a quick exit. DPF does not decide prices or promise any outcome, so review the operator terms, recent sales in the same hotel and the account statement first.
Can I live in a First Group hotel unit?
That depends on the unit's title and operator agreement. Many hotel units are run as part of the hotel, so check the documents before buying with personal use in mind.