LUFC takeover: Who are GFH Capital? and Gulf Finance House?
Who are GFH Capital?
* Private equity firm based in Dubai.
* Founded in 2001.
* Company started out as Injazat Capital and was later renamed G Capital.
* Its website says it has a “ten year track record of top-performing investments and fund management” and claims it has handled investments worth more than eight billion US dollars in 25 different countries.
* Part of its funding has come from the Dubai Islamic Bank, the World Bank and the Islamic Development Bank.
Who are Gulf Finance House?
* An investment bank situated in Manama, Bahrain and the company which wholly owns GFH Capital Limited.
* Formed in 1999 and run by chairman Esam Janahi, one of the founders of the business.
* Like GFH Capital its boasts of investments running into billions of American dollars won numerous awards prior to 2009 but it suffered heavily during the global economic crash, posting losses in excess of £200 million in both 2009 and 2010.
* Sources close to the deal say GFH Capital’s bid for Leeds United has been mounted independently of Gulf Finance House and will not involve that bank.