A Dubai-based hospitality group now controls one of the French Riviera’s most recognisable restaurant brands. NOHM Hospitality, the food and beverage arm of DIFC-based Downtown Ventures, has acquired a controlling stake in Baoli, the Cannes dining and nightlife destination that has operated as a fixture of European jet-set life since 1999.
The deal was signed in Paris on 12 October, with Brandon Joseph, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Business Development at Downtown Ventures, leading negotiations. It marks a directional shift in how luxury hospitality capital moves: for years, European brands have expanded into the Gulf; here, a UAE group is taking ownership of a European original.
NOHM’s path to ownership began in 2022, when it secured a franchise licence to bring Baoli to Dubai’s J1 Beach. The Dubai venue opened in November 2024 and, by the company’s account, quickly became one of the city’s most-discussed beachfront addresses. That performance gave Downtown Ventures the confidence to pursue the acquisition outright.
Sanjeev Nanda, Managing Director of Downtown Ventures, said the Dubai opening reframed where the brand’s centre of gravity now sits. “Dubai has now become the new flagship, and we believe this concept has great potential for global expansion. It’s only fair now that the brand rests in the UAE,” he said.
Baoli’s founder, Christophe Caucino, framed the deal as an extension of what his brand had built. “What began on the Riviera has become a name people recognise worldwide, and NOHM has shown in Dubai how far that magic can travel,” he said.
Downtown Ventures, which Nanda has led since 2005, has previously been behind Taj Dubai, Billionaire Mansion, and Toto’s in London. The group has operated across hospitality, real estate, technology, and pharmaceuticals for more than 40 years.
NOHM now plans to expand Baoli into St Tropez, Bodrum, and Courchevel. The timing aligns with Dubai’s broader tourism rebound: the city received 6.97 million international visitors in the first eight months of 2026, according to the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, with Western Europe its largest source market.
