Private credit firms are building bigger footprints in the Middle East region with Golub Capital and Polen Capital both announcing they are opening new offices in Abu Dhabi.
Golub said it will open its office in the ADGM, the Abu Dhabi Global Market international financial center. The firm also appointed Naser Almutairi as managing director for the Middle East, according to a Dec. 9 news release.
“Both our new office in ADGM and Naser’s appointment are part of our commitment to providing Golub Capital private credit strategies to investors in the Middle East and to providing gold standard client service to our growing investor base here,” said CEO Lawrence Golub in the release.
Almutairi was previously a managing director at Wafra where he focused on business development in the Middle East. He also worked at Goldman Sachs in London covering investor relationships in the Middle East region. Almutairi will work with Basil Hurst, managing director in the global institutional sales group, who relocated to London to lead the firm’s efforts in the Middle East, according to the release.
Golub, which had approximately $70 billion in assets under management as of Oct. 1 including leverage, said it had received In-Principle Approval, IPA, from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority for a license.
A spokesperson for Golub declined to comment on planned office size or its current investing in the region.
Separately, Polen Capital announced Dec. 9 that it is plans to open a Middle East office.
“Opening an office in Abu Dhabi would mark a significant milestone for Polen, as we begin to build a greater presence in the Middle East market,” said CEO Stan Moss in a news release.
Polen said it received an IPA from the Financial Services Authority, according to the news release.
A spokesperson for Polen did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Polen had approximately $63 billion in assets under management as of Sept. 30.
Global asset managers have flocked to the Middle East in recent years to set up offices and gain a foothold in the region in order to manage capital for sovereign wealth funds as well as large regional family offices.
