Company Insights GFH Financial Group Banking & Finance GFH Financial Group Overview GFH Financial Group is an Islamic investment bank. It has headquarters in Bahrain Financial Harbour, Bahrain. Previously known as Gulf Finance House, GFH was established in 1999 under a licence granted by the Central Bank of Bahrain. The bank operates in accordance with sharia, offering financial services, investment and commercial transactions and real estate services, as well as structured finance, securities and liquidity management. It has raised more than $11 billion of investments. GFH was transferred to a Public Shareholding Company in 2004 and is listed on the Bahrain Bourse, Boursa Kuwait, Dubai Financial Market (DFM) and the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX). In 2007, GFH listed its global depositary receipts on the London Stock Exchange. In November 2014, GFH switched its identity from an investment bank to a financial group under the new name GFH Financial Group. Subsidiaries include Big Sky Asset Management and Student Quarters, an asset manager focused on student housing in the US market. GFH Financial Group News Banking & Finance Bahrain’s GFH buys $136m Dubai-based logistics fund GFH Partners, the DIFC-based asset management arm of Bahrain-based GFH Financial Group, has acquired Manrre REIT, the Dubai-based fund with assets across the UAE and the GCC region. The fund’s portfolio is valued at AED500 million ($136.13 million), including 26 industrial and logistics properties in the Emirates. GFH Partners has assumed the fund manager’s role […] December 31, 2024 Education Mergers and acquisitions to fuel Saudi education growth Mergers and acquisitions will play a vital role in the future of Saudi Arabia’s lucrative education sector, which could offer returns in the region of high double-digits, according to an industry expert. There has been a flurry of M&A activity in education in recent weeks. Maarif, one of the largest education companies in the country, […] December 9, 2024 Real Estate Bahrain’s GFH buys $300m US student housing assets GFH Partners, the DIFC-based asset management arm of Bahrain-based GFH Financial Group, has acquired student housing in the United States valued at $300 million. The assets have been added to GFH Partners’ US student housing platform, which now has more than 5,500 beds and assets under management worth $900 million. The assets are 99 percent […] November 25, 2024 Analysis Real Estate Investors size up Gulf student housing after US success Gulf entities have invested billions of dollars in student housing in the United States over the past few years, and are now considering making the same play locally. Accommodation for university students has become a hot asset class amid demographic growth fueled by the millennial generation, which recently passed the baby boomers to become the […] September 16, 2024 Trade UK election adds urgency to GCC trade talks An imminent general election in the UK and a potential change of government has accelerated pressure on negotiators to resolve talks about a GCC trade deal. Talks between the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council – the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait – and the UK are almost two years old. […] April 25, 2024 Economy Bahrain to invest $1.3bn into UK Bahrain’s private sector plans investment of more than £1 billion ($1.26 billion) into the UK, with the aim of driving greater cooperation in clean technology, business services and manufacturing. Investments will be through the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat, along with Investcorp, GFH Financial Group and Osool Asset Management. The Strategic Investment and Collaboration Partnership […] July 4, 2023 Analysis Banking & Finance Mergers push Islamic banking forwards in Bahrain Hundreds of Islamic banking executives are descending on Bahrain next month for the Islamic Finance Innovation Day on May 30. Under the patronage of the Central Bank of Bahrain, it will focus on embedding environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing into Islamic finance. The event comes as analysts predict that Islamic banking’s market share will […] April 26, 2023 Banking & Finance Bahrain’s GFH co-invests with Equitix in Europe’s infra sector Bahrain-based GFH Financial Group’s (GFH) sustainable infrastructure platform Infracorp has announced its first co-investment in the European infrastructure sector with London-based fund manager Equitix. The two entities will invest in Aurora Infrastructure Oy (Aurora), a monopoly electricity distribution network operating in Finland. Aurora serves a blue-chip international industrial client base and has invested more than […] January 12, 2023 Health Bahrain’s GFH takes on US healthcare with Big Sky deal Bahrain’s GFH Financial Group announced on Tuesday it has completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Big Sky Asset Management, a US real estate asset manager focused on the healthcare sector. The transaction further expands GFH’s presence in the States and follows the partnership in May with SQ Asset Management, a specialist in student […] January 3, 2023 Exclusive Retail Saudi and Egypt offer ideal stage for UAE’s The Entertainer The Entertainer, a Dubai-based tech company that offers thousands of lifestyle product discounts, is focusing on Saudi Arabia and Egypt for expansion as demand rises amid the current cost of living crunch. New CEO Ahmed Gaber, who was previously general manager of Visa’s operations in North Africa where he was responsible for developing the digital […] November 7, 2022 Posts navigation 1 2 Next
Banking & Finance Bahrain’s GFH buys $136m Dubai-based logistics fund GFH Partners, the DIFC-based asset management arm of Bahrain-based GFH Financial Group, has acquired Manrre REIT, the Dubai-based fund with assets across the UAE and the GCC region. The fund’s portfolio is valued at AED500 million ($136.13 million), including 26 industrial and logistics properties in the Emirates. GFH Partners has assumed the fund manager’s role […] December 31, 2024
Education Mergers and acquisitions to fuel Saudi education growth Mergers and acquisitions will play a vital role in the future of Saudi Arabia’s lucrative education sector, which could offer returns in the region of high double-digits, according to an industry expert. There has been a flurry of M&A activity in education in recent weeks. Maarif, one of the largest education companies in the country, […] December 9, 2024
Real Estate Bahrain’s GFH buys $300m US student housing assets GFH Partners, the DIFC-based asset management arm of Bahrain-based GFH Financial Group, has acquired student housing in the United States valued at $300 million. The assets have been added to GFH Partners’ US student housing platform, which now has more than 5,500 beds and assets under management worth $900 million. The assets are 99 percent […] November 25, 2024
Analysis Real Estate Investors size up Gulf student housing after US success Gulf entities have invested billions of dollars in student housing in the United States over the past few years, and are now considering making the same play locally. Accommodation for university students has become a hot asset class amid demographic growth fueled by the millennial generation, which recently passed the baby boomers to become the […] September 16, 2024
Trade UK election adds urgency to GCC trade talks An imminent general election in the UK and a potential change of government has accelerated pressure on negotiators to resolve talks about a GCC trade deal. Talks between the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council – the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait – and the UK are almost two years old. […] April 25, 2024
Economy Bahrain to invest $1.3bn into UK Bahrain’s private sector plans investment of more than £1 billion ($1.26 billion) into the UK, with the aim of driving greater cooperation in clean technology, business services and manufacturing. Investments will be through the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat, along with Investcorp, GFH Financial Group and Osool Asset Management. The Strategic Investment and Collaboration Partnership […] July 4, 2023
Analysis Banking & Finance Mergers push Islamic banking forwards in Bahrain Hundreds of Islamic banking executives are descending on Bahrain next month for the Islamic Finance Innovation Day on May 30. Under the patronage of the Central Bank of Bahrain, it will focus on embedding environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing into Islamic finance. The event comes as analysts predict that Islamic banking’s market share will […] April 26, 2023
Banking & Finance Bahrain’s GFH co-invests with Equitix in Europe’s infra sector Bahrain-based GFH Financial Group’s (GFH) sustainable infrastructure platform Infracorp has announced its first co-investment in the European infrastructure sector with London-based fund manager Equitix. The two entities will invest in Aurora Infrastructure Oy (Aurora), a monopoly electricity distribution network operating in Finland. Aurora serves a blue-chip international industrial client base and has invested more than […] January 12, 2023
Health Bahrain’s GFH takes on US healthcare with Big Sky deal Bahrain’s GFH Financial Group announced on Tuesday it has completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Big Sky Asset Management, a US real estate asset manager focused on the healthcare sector. The transaction further expands GFH’s presence in the States and follows the partnership in May with SQ Asset Management, a specialist in student […] January 3, 2023
Exclusive Retail Saudi and Egypt offer ideal stage for UAE’s The Entertainer The Entertainer, a Dubai-based tech company that offers thousands of lifestyle product discounts, is focusing on Saudi Arabia and Egypt for expansion as demand rises amid the current cost of living crunch. New CEO Ahmed Gaber, who was previously general manager of Visa’s operations in North Africa where he was responsible for developing the digital […] November 7, 2022
