The House of Versace is to build a new hotel in Dubai. It will be the world's second Palazzo Versace. The first hotel opened in 2000 on the Australian Gold Coast. Versace has joined forces with Australian property developer Sunland Group Limited and Emirates International holdings to develop the project.

Both Sunland and Versace's management agree that the Middle East is a promising arena for such a project. Anne Jamieson, general manager of Sunland Group, recently said: "The Group's current acquisition strategy is to concentrate only on those areas that are showing strong future population and infrastructure growth, along with providing a product that matches the market's needs for that specific geographic location." The building is expected to begin in early 2006.