Depa PLC is a publicly listed interior construction and manufacturing firm headquartered in Dubai, UAE. Established in 1996 and listed on the Nasdaq Dubai. The firm provides interior construction services and joinery manufacturing for construction contractors in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe. Depa Group consists of four subsidiaries: Depa Interiors, Deco Group, Design Studio Group, and Vedder.
History
Depa Group was established as Arabtec Hotel Interiors in 1996 by founding members Riad Kamal, Chris Holmes and Mohannad Sweid. In 1997, the company completed its first project - the Al Bustan Rotana Hotel in Dubai, UAE. In the same year, the company also provided interior construction works on the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Dubai. In 1998, Arabtec Hotel Interiors acquired an Italian interior contractor called Depa, and subsequently changed its name to Depa. Depa Abu Dhabi was incorporated in the same year.
Depa provided interior works for the Al Bustan Rotana Hotel & Burj Al Arab, both in Dubai, in 1997 and 1999 respectively. In the same year, Depa Hotel Interiors (Egypt) was established and the company delivered the Four Seasons Nile Plaza Hotel in Cairo.
2000 - 2010
In 2000, Depa established a subsidiary called Pino Meroni Yacht Interiors. In 2001, Depa Abu Dhabi completed its first contract - the ADWEA headquarters. In 2003, Depa Interiors completed the interior works for the Grand Hyatt Hotel Dubai.
In 2005, Depa Abu Dhabi provided interior works for the Emirates Palace hotel. In the same year, Depa formed a joint venture with Mivan, named Mivan Depa, and provided interior works for the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar, designed by architect I. M. Pei.
In 2006, Depa provided interior works for the Dubai Festival City district including InterContinental Hotel, Crown Plaza Hotel, Dubai Festival City Convention Centre, and Harbour Plaza Hotel. In the same year, Depa also established operations in Morocco, Sudan, Qatar, India, and formed joint venture (later to become a wholly owned subsidiary) Depa Albarakah to procure and install gypsum; and acquired Abu Dhabi-based woodworking firm Eldiar. In the same year, Depa completed the interior fit-out of the Shoreline Apartments complex on the Palm Jumeirah, Dubai. In 2006, the company also acquired Deco Emirates, Dragoni International, Royal Thai Carpets and Design Studio, and a 22.2 per cent stake in JWICO.
In 2007, Depa established joint ventures with JWICO, The Parker Company, and Decolight, in Jordan; and set up operations in Saudi Arabia. In Morocco, DepaMar provided interior works on the Mazagan Beach and Gold Resort in El Jedida. Depa Qatar secured the contract to fit-out the Commercial Bank of Qatar’s headquarters in Doha. In 2007, Depa and German interior contractor Lindner Group formed the Lindner Depa Interiors joint venture, which in 2008, was awarded contracts to fit-out 11 Green Line stations and 13 Red Line stations for the Dubai Metro.
In 2008, Depa, Deco, Depa Abu Dhabi, and Mivan Depa all provided interior work for the Atlantis, The Palm Hotel Dubai. 2008 was also the year Depa Interiors began work on the interior fit-out of the Burj Khalifa (originally named Burj Dubai), the world’s tallest building. Depa also completed the fit-out of Al Futtaim's new management offices in Festival Tower, Dubai. In the same year, Depa and Design Studio formed the joint venture DDS, and were awarded the fit-out of Marina Bay Sands Singapore. Later that year, DDS became a wholly owned subsidiary, and was incorporated in Singapore. Additionally, Depa acquired yacht interior fit-out firm Vedder, in Germany. Also in 2008, Depa listed on the Nasdaq Dubai, and the London Stock Exchange. In 2009, Depa Abu Dhabi and Mivan Depa delivered works for Ferrari World on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, and completed work on five Yas Island hotels. In Dubai, Depa completed the fit-out of the Palazzo Versace.
2010-2015
In 2010, Depa acquired UAE stone and marble suppliers, Carrara Mid-East, and entered the Angolan market securing a contract for the interior fit-out of the InterContinental Hotel in Luanda.
Projects commenced in 2011 included: the Fairmont Flame Tower project in Baku, Azerbaijan; Zaha Hadid Architects project the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies & Research Centre (KAPSARC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; IPIC Square in Abu Dhabi; and the Mazagan Villa project in Morocco. In 2011, Deco Group provided fit-out works for Louis Vuitton in Bahrain, Morocco, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Oman.