Exclusive interview Hussein Khalil El Batal the chairman and CEO of Batal Design Group

Your journey started with a single humble store that evolved into a multi-market design powerhouse. Looking back, which core values have driven BD Holding’s transformation over the past 30 years?

When I look back, what carried us from one humble store to a regional group is quite simple: family, integrity, and obsession with design. We never treated furniture as a product; we treated it as a way of living. Over seventy years, BD Holding built deep relationships with suppliers across the world, always insisting on quality, fair pricing, and long-term partnerships. This mindset created trust. Trust from our teams, our partners, and our customers, and it is that trust which allowed us to grow into a multi country design group rather than remain a single showroom.

The Group has expanded its portfolio with brands such as DAZE, B Design, Intercasa, B Interiors, B Closets, and B Office. How do these brands reflect the region’s evolving lifestyle and design expectations?

Each brand in BD Holding answers a different need in our customers’ lives. DAZE speaks to the new generation that wants modern design, comfort, and accessibility without compromising on quality. B Design and Intercasa focus on craftsmanship, customization, and full interior solutions for homes and projects. B Interiors, B Closets, and B Office answer the growing demand for tailored storage, workspaces, and smart living. Together they reflect a region where people are more design aware, more digitally connected, and more demanding. They expect international standards with a local heartbeat, and this is exactly what our portfolio delivers.

Your philanthropic work and community commitments are widely recognized. How does this personal mission shape the culture, values, and long-term vision of BD Holding?

I grew up in a country that has seen many challenges. For me, success without responsibility has no meaning. Our philanthropic initiatives, whether in education, craftsmanship training, or community support, are not separate from the business. They are part of our identity. Within BD Holding, this translates into a culture of respect, loyalty, and opportunity. A place where people grow, stay, and contribute to something larger than a business. Many of our employees have grown with us for decades. Externally, it means we design and build with the belief that better homes can contribute to stronger communities. When we talk about expansion, we are not only speaking about showrooms; we are speaking about impact and legacy.

DAZE is one of your latest brand concepts. What design gap or unmet customer behavior inspired its creation, and how does it differentiate itself from the Group’s other brands in terms of materials, colour palettes, and price positioning?

DAZE was born because we saw a clear gap. Customers wanted contemporary, trend conscious furniture with a refined look, but at a price that felt realistic for everyday life. With DAZE we combined the heritage and purchasing power of BD Holding with a fresh, youthful design language. The brand plays with bouclé, micro leather, warm woods, marble and metal details, soft neutrals, and rich accent tones that speak to today’s interiors. The collections are carefully engineered to be accessible in price, yet aspirational in mood. It sits alongside our other brands as the most approachable, fashion forward expression of our design philosophy.

DAZE has quickly emerged as a strong franchise model. In your view, what makes it a compelling investment opportunity compared to other concepts in the market?

What makes DAZE powerful as a franchise is that partners are not starting from zero. They step into a concept that is already tested in multiple countries, supported by more than seventy years of sourcing experience and thousands of supplier relationships worldwide. This gives DAZE a strong advantage in price, quality, and design. In addition, we offer a full support structure: operations, R and D, purchasing, and marketing specialists, all focused on the success of our partners. The model is designed to deliver attractive returns, with an accessible initial investment and a clear path to profitability, which is why investors see it as a serious, results driven opportunity.

Looking ahead, what is the expansion roadmap for DAZE? Where do you envision the brand in the next five years, and what strategies will drive that growth?

DAZE started in Lebanon and has grown into key cities such as Riyadh, Jeddah, Khobar, Buraydah, Dubai, Erbil, Baghdad, and Africa with a new location underway in Baghdad and an upcoming international opening in Milano. Our current footprint spans more than twelve showrooms, and our ambition is to cross fifty by the end of 2030. The strategy is clear: work with committed partners, secure prime locations, and maintain a strong pipeline of collections that respond to local tastes while staying globally relevant. We will continue to build DAZE as a trend-setting yet accessible brand, ready for multi-continent expansion.

How do you balance trend driven collections with timeless pieces that retain value over the years?

For me, this balance is the art of what we do. Our R and D team spends the year studying exhibitions, global fairs, and digital inspiration to identify what is coming next. At the same time, we design with longevity in mind. The new direction in furniture is not fast fashion; it is collections that feel current today but still beautiful ten years from now. We achieve this by anchoring each season in solid proportions, comfortable silhouettes, and materials that age well, then layering in trend elements through fabrics, colours, and details that can be refreshed over time.

What operational systems make DAZE a scalable franchise model for multi market expansion?

Behind the aesthetics, DAZE is a very disciplined system. Our partners benefit from a complete toolkit: showroom design, visual merchandising, staff training, project support, and access to integrated software, systems, and e commerce. A dedicated franchise team follows up daily to ensure consistency and growth. Because sourcing, R and D, marketing, and logistics are centralized and managed by experienced teams, each new franchise can focus on execution and customer relationships rather than building an entire infrastructure from scratch. This is what allows DAZE to replicate success from one country to another while respecting the specifics of each market.

What differentiates DAZE from other contemporary furniture brands in the region?

DAZE stands at the intersection of Lebanese creativity and European refinement. It carries the heritage and credibility of BD Holding, yet speaks with a young, confident voice. The brand combines design research, material innovation, and careful pricing in a way that few regional brands can match. Most importantly, DAZE is not only a showroom concept; it is a partnership model with proven results, from Lebanon to UAE, KSA, Iraq, and soon in Milano and Africa. When you choose DAZE, whether as a customer or a franchisee, you are joining a story that is already successful and still full of possibilities.

Symbolic Developments, the real estate division of Speedex Group, has closed 2025 as its most transformative year yet, driven by rapid delivery, solid investor performance, and an expanding community footprint. Building on growing demand, Symbolic Developments doubled its launches in 2025 through two strategically located projects: Symbolic Zen Residences in Al Furjan and Symbolic Altus in Liwan.

The year opened with a landmark achievement, the handover of Symbolic Alpha in just 14 months, setting a new benchmark in the accessible luxury residential segment for speed, efficiency, and quality. This early success became the catalyst for accelerated demand, particularly in Liwan.

The launch of Symbolic Altus marked a meaningful “return to Liwan”; this decision was shaped by growing homeowner satisfaction and exceptional rental and resale performance at Symbolic Alpha. The strengthened market confidence also spurred community interest in a second project within the same neighbourhood.

“2025 was the year we demonstrated that prioritizing our residents creates positive ripple effects throughout the entire ecosystem,” said Mr. Mustafa Moiz, Managing Director of Symbolic Developments. “When a Symbolic Alpha homeowner earns a 9% rental yield or secures a resale offer 33% above their entry price, it confirms we are building what people actually want. Similarly, buyers in our Symbolic Aura project in Al Furjan have seen impressive value appreciation of around 20-25% even while the development is still under construction. With the strong response to Symbolic Altus behind us, we enter 2026 committed to a practical goal: ensuring every square foot we develop delivers real wealth and quality of life.”

Beyond the numbers, 2025 reinforced Symbolic’s development philosophy, creating homes centered on people and their lifestyles. Residents across the portfolio continue to praise the developer’s thoughtful layouts, sustainable green features, practical amenities, and welcoming low-density environments. These lifestyle-driven qualities remain at the heart of every Symbolic community.

Ending the year with strong finances and a network of reliable partners, Symbolic Developments embraces 2026 with a focused vision, to build communities that feel like home and create value that endures for investors.

Fakhruddin Properties, one of the UAE’s leading sustainability-oriented developers, and Holcim UAE, the leading partner for sustainable construction, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly advance sustainable construction across the region.

The new partnership marks a significant regional milestone for Holcim as its first MoU signed with a Middle East-headquartered developer. It underscores the company’s commitment to expanding its geographical reach and championing sustainable building solutions that support the UAE’s net-zero ambitions.

Commenting on the announcement, Yousuf Fakhruddin, CEO and Managing Director, Fakhruddin Properties, said, “This MoU supports the UAE’s national sustainability agenda and aligns with the 2015 Paris Agreement, reinforcing the UAE’s long-held commitment to achieving net-zero CO₂ emissions by 2050. We will work closely with Holcim UAE to reduce both embodied and operational carbon, promote circular economy principles, and scale practical sustainability solutions with full transparency.

“For example, low-carbon materials supplied by Holcim and other manufacturers will be a staple across our future projects. This partnership demonstrates that effective decarbonization requires joint efforts across developers, sustainable solution providers, as well as government and industry stakeholders, combining innovation with measurable climate action.”

Ali Said, CEO, Holcim UAE added, “Sustainability is not just a goal, it is a shared responsibility that requires collaboration, transparency, and innovation. Through this partnership, we will embed low-carbon, circular, and resilient practices across the built environment. By ensuring traceability of materials along the entire value chain and integrating sustainable design and construction solutions, we will create communities that support wellbeing, respect the environment and nature, and set new benchmarks for sustainable development, starting with the UAE.”

By leveraging Holcim UAE’s expertise in low-carbon and circular building solutions through its NextGen Growth 2030 strategy, which includes a focus on the scaling up of sustainable construction, and Fakhruddin Properties’ sustainable development vision, the collaboration aims to deliver future-ready communities that balance environmental responsibility with social value.

A multi award-winning sustainable pioneer in the UAE’s real estate space, Fakhruddin Properties’ pioneered the country’s first in-building waste management system, diverting 90 per cent of waste from landfills; and is committed to delivering a wellness-optimized lifestyle across its growing portfolio through the implementation of smart home and air purification technology and other ground-breaking energy-efficient initiatives designed to address the global issue of rising energy consumption.