Petros Stathis: The hidden Shareholder behind NAMMOS Dubai’s Global Success

Less is often more in the world of business. The CEO or shareholders who chase publicity may not always be the ones most focused on success and on achieving shareholder returns; it is often the quiet and diligent businessmen, who eschew celebrity, who are the ones to watch. That is if you can find them in the first place.

In a sector of high-profile personalities, one of the few names to stand out for not standing out is the Greek leisure sector entrepreneur Petros Stathis. Most people who visit his venues have no idea of the personality behind them. Petros, historically more often the silent partner providing the property for a high-end brand, is now becoming the brand owner and operator himself.

As the man who brought Nammos to Dubai, in its first three years, becoming the world’s highest grossing restaurant, Petros can no longer hide from the limelight, even though he might prefer to do so.

While Nammos Dubai was his first restaurant as operator he was able to bring to the project over 30 years of successful business experience, first in commercial property and more recently in the high-end leisure sector.

An Emirati citizen since 2023, Petros moved to Dubai more than a decade ago as he saw the emirate was increasingly the location of choice for those building international operations. “London used to be the only real center for international capital flows, talent recruitment, and communications – where you needed to be to build global businesses. That is no longer the case,” he says. “Especially if you want to move fast, as we often have to do in our business to secure first mover advantage, in so many ways Dubai is now the best place to be based”.

The international reach of Monterock International, Petros’s privately held holding company can be seen on their website and it evidences clearly the global nature of the high-end leisure sector. It shows investments in some of the most recognizable global brands across Europe, the Americas, Asia and now the Middle East.

“Successful brands don’t stand still” says Petros. “Take Nammos. Here in Dubai it is known as the place to go for Mediterranean dining. In Mykonos we have developed the Nammos Hotel & Village concept by combining high-end dining, lodging and retail. We are now working with LVMH on expanding the Nammos Village concept to other geographies.”

In the UAE luxury dining and hospitality is being redefined reflecting the insatiable demand for quality long associated with other global centres. Whilst Nammos is a stand-out venue in Dubai there are other brands carving out a loyal following. “We are getting massive innovation now within the Middle East” observes Petros. “It is no longer a case solely of asking what brands can we import? We are creating our own brands so the question now is ‘what can we export’ from Dubai to the world?”

Petros reflects: “When you get a critical mass in any sector you start to get innovation. That is the position we have now reached in the global leisure sector here in Dubai. And if you combine innovation with the availability of capital you move into a different league.”

That comment neatly segways into the fact that in December 2022 Petros moved some of his Monterock assets into a new leisure vertical JV with Alpha Dhabi: known as ADMO Lifestyle Holding. In recent months, after the transfer of Nammos, ADMO has concluded three more strategic investments: Alpha-Mind (a JV with Addmind), Ce La Vi, and Em Sheriff.

This is a long way from the start of Petros’ career. First as an adviser to the Greek Government on their initially failed bid to host the Olympics in Athens in 1996 (they were ultimately successful in 2004). This took Petros into commercial property which he successful exited through an IPO. In turn this this provided the resources to branch out into other sectors, including shipping and sports, with a notable investment in AEK Athens Football Club.

However, it was his move into the international hospitality sector that became his life’s work and he did this via his expertise with property.

Petros’ focus shifted from Athens to Montenegro, driven by personal ties and business opportunities, and this marked the beginning of Monterock International. He acquired a bundle of assets including the long-term lease for the island of Sveti Stefan. This led to a partnership with Adrian Zecha, founder of AMAN Resorts. Together, they transformed Sveti Stefan into a luxury AMAN Hotel. This was followed by the successful development of the AMAN Hotel in Venice. Investments in other leading leisure brands (such as Nobu, and One & Only and others) swiftly followed.

Fast forward to today. Whilst building a world-beating portfolio of global leisure brands Petros remains a hands-on businessman, and for example is driving the global expansion of the Nammos brand with openings in prime locations such as London, Cannes, the Maldives, Miami, Beverly Hills and Abu Dhabi.

Monterock International now employs more than 2,500 people across 18 countries, with offices in Athens, Dubai, and the Balkans. Under Petros’s leadership, the company continues to push boundaries, setting new standards in luxury hospitality and beyond. “We are far from done yet” he observes, “the development of truly global brands in this sector has only just begun and we intend that Monterock remains a driving force in this space”.

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