Jumeirah's Noodle House to expand into Russia

Jumeirah Restaurants, a division of the Dubai-based hotel group, said on Wednesday it has signed a licence agreement with Ingeo Limited to open eight restaurants in Moscow. A first Noodle House is expected to open in the Russian capital in 2012 and will be followed by seven other restaurants across the city, a statement said. The Noodle House has already proven to be a success with 17 restaurants open in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Muscat, Riyadh, Kuwait, Cairo, Limassol, Doha, and Lahore. The Noodle House is inspired by the food and nightlife of South East Asian cities such as Hong Kong, Shanghai, Bangkok and Jakarta. Dilip Awtani, managing director of Ingeo Limited, Phil Broad, managing director of Jumeirah Restaurants and Karan Awtani, CEO of Ingeo Limited, signed the agreement to expand the brand into Russia. With this opening, Jumeirah Restaurants are consolidating their ambitious growth plans to penetrate new markets. The signing follows the recent openings of the Noodle House in Kuwait, Dubai and Pakistan with plans to open several more in the next few years, the statement added. The Noodle House was the first restaurant brand to be developed and is the flagship of Jumeirah Restaurants with licence agreements already signed in 11 countries globally. Other concepts include Sana Bonta, Urbano, AllFreshCo, Rice + Spice and The Flaming Revolution. In May, Jumeirah Group, the parent group, said that it was mulling its first property in Russia in a bid to tap increasing demand for luxury travel in the country. Russia is one the biggest growth markets for visitors to Jumeirah’s five-star luxury hotels but the state-backed hotelier is keen to capitalise on the domestic market, said executive chairman Gerard Lawless. Jumeirah said that negotiations were ongoing with potential partners in Russia to secure a property.