In the works for almost three years, VENU is the name of Jumeirah’s Group lifestyle brand, which will be launched in Shanghai in 2011.

Jumeirah is in advanced stages of negotiation with developers interested in the Middle East, Northern Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia Pacific. Reports also have the brand coming to Dubai, not surprisingly, with Jumeirah strictly coming in as the management company.

“We see VENU as a natural extension of the Jumeirah brand that will enable us to expand into new markets while maintaining our core focus on operating luxury hotels” says Gerald Lawless, executive chairman for Jumeirah. “VENU is designed to deliver a compelling contemporary lifestyle experience offering ‘local soul’. This can be succesfully delivered in sufficients scale to ensure a strong business proposition for owners across the globe.”

The full service-concept is expected to have guestrooms at about 36m2 (388 sq ft), a restaurant, spa and the latest technology.