A woman looks at products as she buys food supplies at a supermarket, as Muslims prepare for the fasting month of Ramadan in Dubai July 8, 2013. Albwardy Investment, the franchise's 100% owner, hired Rothschild & Co to advise on the planned IPO, the sources said, requesting anonymity as the plans are not public. The potential IPO of Spinneys Dubai, planned on the Dubai Financial Market, would add to the small but growing regional food retail sector. Spinneys Dubai operates more than 65 stores across the UAE, its website says. Albwardy, which says it has annual turnover above $1 billion, also owns the franchise rights to upmarket British supermarket chain Waitrose.

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Persons: El, Rothschild, Moelis, Yousef Saba, Barbara Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, Spinneys, United Arab, Albwardy Investment, Co, Dubai Financial, Americana, North, KFC, Lulu, Reuters, UAE, Spinneys Dubai, Waitrose, Nestle UAE, Thomson Locations: Dubai, Spinneys Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Albwardy, East, North Africa, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Europe, Middle East, Africa