New villa and ambitious new developer boost Dubai potential

International entrepreneur David von Rosen has launched 25 Degrees – a new top-end Dubai-based property development company co-founded with a Dubai-based family office: it has also completed its first luxury villa on the Palm Jumeirah.

Having invested more than AED 500 million of his own private capital in 25 Degrees, von Rosen says the business will cater for the growing influx of ultra-high-net-worth individuals to Dubai from Europe and the United States who are seeking best-in-class, super prime homes built to high European standards, style, and specifications.

Von Rosen, a German national living between Dubai and Switzerland, is the founder of several gaming and gambling companies around the world with an annual revenue of over 1 billion USD and has founded numerous other companies across fashion, insurance, and fintech.

Named after Dubai’s latitudinal location, 25 Degrees will both renovate existing properties and develop new-builds for sale. 

The developer has partnered with Sotheby’s International Realty to market its first project which is a 5,800 square foot private beach villa listed at US$16.9 million. The developer’s next two properties will be larger private beach villas, sitting at 10,500 square feet.

25 Degrees has a strategic partnership with real estate project management and consultancy expert Carter Hones Associates. The developer is also partnered with renowned local architects and interior designers.

The first completed luxury beach villa is finished with imported furniture and fittings from prestigious European brands including Minotti, Panzeri, Baxter, and Cattelan Italia.

Premium stone sourced from Italy, Greece, and Brazil has also been integrated into the property in various cuts and finishes. These include backlit Italian white onyx in the entrance hall, backlit oyster stone from Italy in the bar area, and white Calacatta marble from Greece, which is integrated into the kitchen alongside Gaggenau appliances.

The launch comes at a time of surging demand for luxury homes in Dubai, with a Knight King report showing the total number of sales in the city over $10 million grew by 92.4 per cent to 431 sales during 2023. The report also shows that during the first nine months of 2023, Dubai has already sold more than twice as many homes priced over $10 million than New York, its nearest competitor.

25 Degrees says Dubai’s property market is growing rapidly, but much of the focus has been on developing new areas further inland. Von Rosen says 25 Degrees will instead focus on units in mature, attractive, and desirable communities where there is existing infrastructure, such as Palm Jumeirah, where there is a real sense of community – and where homes won’t be surrounded by heavy construction for the foreseeable future.

Although Palm Jumeirah is the initial focus for 25 Degrees, von Rosen plans to rapidly expand the business to develop super prime properties throughout other key locations in Dubai, with an ambitious goal of selling 100 properties by 2030.

Von Rosen adds: “Each of our properties, whether a new build or renovation, is developed to the highest level of specification, using the finest materials imported from all over the world, finished and detailed to the highest level of luxury and specification. We’re bringing the highest level of European standards, craftsmanship, materials, and finish to our properties. This is what HNWIs have come to expect in other global cities but rarely find in Dubai.

“Our first property, a private beach villa, hit the market in January 2024 and will be followed by two larger private beach villas later in the year. Our sole focus is now on scaling the business to hit our ambitious target of selling 100 homes by 2030 in the wider region.”