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Kuwait - At a media briefing held today in Kuwait City, Gatehouse Bank plc ("Gatehouse") and Threadneedle Investments ("Threadneedle") hosted members of the GCC media. During the briefing, they outlined their plans to explore the development of a range of diverse investment products aimed at the growing market segment of Islamic investors. The briefing comes shortly after the announcement of Threadneedle's acquisition of an equity stake in Gatehouse, bringing together a global asset management powerhouse and one of the most well-established originators of high quality Shariah-compliant structured investments.
In early March 2015, Threadneedle, a leading international asset manager based in London with assets under management of $148.2 billion, completed the acquisition of a 2% strategic equity stake in Gatehouse. Doing so, Threadneedle joined a roster of GCC based financial institutions as a significant investor in Gatehouse, the London-based and regulated investment bank. Gatehouse has built a widely regarded reputation for the origination of high quality Shariah-compliantinvestments in real estate and other asset classes. An important part of Threadneedle'sinvestment in Gatehouse is the desire of both parties to work together, sharing their respective global fund structuring knowledge and Shariah-compliant origination track record. They intend to use this combination to explore the considerable opportunities for a range of high quality Shariah-compliant institutional and retail investment products.
"Over the past eight years, Gatehouse has gained recognition globally as one of the foremost originators and structurers of diversified Shariah-compliant investments" said FahedBoodai, Chairman of Gatehouse. "So we are pleased at having established this relationship with Threadneedle, widely respected as a leading international asset manager in multiple asset classes. The skills and experience of our two organisations are very complementary and given the outlook for high quality, well-managed and properly structured Shariah-compliant investment products, we see considerable benefit in a partnership that we hope will last many years."
This partnership recognises the growing potential for investment products targeting the Shariah-compliant financial sector. "The market aimed at the institutional and high net worth segments within Shariah-compliant finance has been growing steadily for two decades. Gatehouse has been a major participant in bringing new and diversified investment opportunities to investors, particularly those based in the GCC region and Malaysia" said Henry Thompson,Chief Executive Officer of Gatehouse. "This market remains very buoyant, and is being joined by increasing demand from a broader base of investors. We believe that with Threadneedle's global investment knowledge, track record and distribution strength, we can explore with them a range of Shariah-compliant structured products which will appeal strongly within the traditionally strong Islamic markets where Gatehouse has excellent, entrenched relationships".
Ted Truscott, Chairman of Threadneedlesaid "In the four years to 2014, Shariah-compliant funds under management grew at more than 17 per cent annually and the outlook remains strong. We think there is an exciting opportunity to develop a broader range of Shariah-compliant investment products encompassing equities, real estate and sukukto meet the needs of the expanding investor base. Gatehouse's combination of Shariah-compliant investment expertise, and the breadth of its relationships across the GCC region and Southeast Asia makes them a very good fit for Threadneedle's track record in fund management. We are excited about the opportunities for working with Gatehouse to develop our ideas for this growing market."
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About Gatehouse Bank plc
Gatehouse Bank plc (the "Bank") is an investment bank based in the City of London, authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and regulated by the PRA and the Financial Conduct Authority. Founded in 2008, the Bank invests in accordance with Shariah principles and has divisions in Real Estate Investment, Real Estate Finance, Treasury, and Wealth Management. Seeking to preserve and grow wealth for its clients, the Bank combines international financial market expertise with excellence in Shariah principles. The Bank advises funds with approximately $1.5 billion of assets in the United States and United Kingdom.
For more information please visit www.gatehousebank.com.
About Threadneedle Investments
Threadneedle is a leading international investment manager with a strong track record of outperformance across asset classes. We actively manage $148.2 billion (as at 31 Dec 2014) of assets, investing on behalf of individuals, pension funds, insurers and corporations. We are the 5th largest UK retail fund manager1 and the 10th largest UK fund manager¹ by AUM. In Europe we rank in the top 40². Established in 1994 in London, Threadneedle has a presence in 17 countries. Threadneedle is a part of Columbia Threadneedle Investments, a leading global asset management group.
For more information please visit www.threadneedle.com
1 UK IA rankings, Dec 2014, see www.investmentfunds.org.uk
2 Europe ranking, Morningstar Rankings ex MM, ex FoF and ex Master/Feeder, Nov 2014
Media enquiries:
Wakim Zeidan
Head of Corporate Communication
wzeidan@gc.com.kw
Mob: +965 98005430
© Press Release 2015
