European Islamic Investment Bank has announced the establishment of a private equity and corporate advisory department, based in London and headed by Robin Henshall, supported by Marcus Sc
European Islamic Investment Bank has announced the establishment of a private equity and corporate advisory department, based in London and headed by Robin Henshall, supported by Marcus Scott. A team of professionals is in place and the bank plans to expand the team with new hires over the coming months.
The business will identify Sharia’a-compliant cross-border opportunities for the bank’s clients, initially focusing on Europe, the Middle East and North Africa and targeting the energy, natural resources, agriculture, real estate, transport and logistics, consumer luxury goods, retail and support services sectors.
The private equity activities will focus on investing in mid-market companies with an enterprise value of between USD50m and USD500m including full and partial equity ownership of private companies and Pipe-style investments in public companies.
The corporate advisory activities will focus upon mergers and acquisitions advisory and public and private capital markets advice, including primary and secondary capital raising and both equity and structured products. The corporate advisory work is expected to involve predominantly transactions with a Middle Eastern aspect.
Henshall and Scott have joined European Islamic Investment Bank from City Capital, a niche London-based investment banking and hedge fund boutique, where they focused on small and mid-sized company advisory and direct investments.
A specialist in the energy, infrastructure and transportation sectors, Henshall has more than 22 years’ investment banking experience, mainly at UBS but also including Bank of America, SG Barr Devlin, Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette/Credit Suisse and County NatWest.
Scott has more than 14 years of investment banking experience, having previously worked for Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette/Credit Suisse and Salomon Brothers, and has extensive experience in emerging markets.
‘Robin and Marcus bring a wealth of investment banking experience and will be key in helping us establish and grow our private equity and corporate finance business,’ says European Islamic Investment Bank chief executive John Weguelin.
‘Our positioning as an independent, Sharia’a-compliant investment bank in London, coupled with the depth of our investor and strategic relationships in the Gulf, will allow us to offer a premier service to clients.’
The bank was incorporated in January 2005, received FSA authorisation in March 2006 and was listed on AIM two months later. Its range of products and services also include Islamic treasury and capital markets, asset management, real estate, structured trade finance and Sharia’a advisory.
European Islamic Investment Bank offers a range of alternative investment opportunities designed to help investors construct balanced and sophisticated portfolios comprising a range of Sharia’a-compliant asset classes.
It believes the market for Sharia’a-compliant investment banking services in Europe, the Middle East and Asia has been under-exploited by conventional and Islamic banks, and by non-banking institutions.
The bank, whose founder shareholders include Gulf-based individuals and institutions including Islamic banks as well as individuals and companies based in Europe, seeks to become a major participant in the fast-growing market for Islamic securities, treasury and investment products.
