Gulf Capital, one of the largest and most active alternative investment firms in the Middle East based in Abu Dhabi, was voted "Best Private Equity Firm in the Middle East" for the third year in a row. Gulf Capital received the honour at the annual event of the prestigious Banker Middle East Industry Awards 2013 ceremony, held yesterday in Dubai. The extravagant award ceremony was attended by prominent industry experts and banking and finance peers from the Arab region, including the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC), the Levant, North Africa and from around the world.

The award for the "Best Private Equity Firm in Middle East" was presented to Richard Dallas, Managing Director, Private Equity at Gulf Capital, along with the Private Equity team of Gulf Capital last night.

Commenting on the accolade, Dr. Karim El Solh, Gulf Capital’s Chief Executive Officer, said: "We are honoured to have been voted by experts and industry peers as the ‘Best Private Equity Firm’ in the Middle East for the third year in a row. This has been one of our best and most active years, with a notable increase in deal activity in both our private equity and credit and mezzanine divisions. Our portfolio companies have grown dramatically over the last few years and we are starting to generate a number of attractive exits and significant distributions to our investors. We are proud of this award and for being recognized as the most active and successful private equity firm in the Middle East."

Richard Dallas added: "This award recognises Gulf Capital’s position as the premier alternative investment manager in the region. It also reflects our achievements in the past 12 months, reinforcing our status as one of the most active alternative investment firms with a number of acquisitions in Oil& Gas, healthcare and services, and the strong and sustained growth in our portfolio companies." A remarkable example is Gulf Marine Services (GMS), which represents a regional success story for how a company can be transformed from a local player in Abu Dhabi to a regional leader and international player in its sector. Under the six years of ownership of Gulf Capital, and through a change programme, GMS witnessed a record growth of 750%.

During this period, Gulf Capital actively pursued a number of successful transactions across its alternative asset classes. The Firm further expanded its Private Equity portfolio by investing in the fast-growing healthcare sector. The Firm’s wholly-owned portfolio company, Techno Group Investment Holdings (Techno Group-"TGIH"), acquired strategic stakes in Med Ray and Dogu Tip, two major players in diagnostic imaging in the region. It also invested in OCB Oilfield Services FZCO("OCB"), the leading Oil & Gas crew supply and related logistics provider in the Middle East, South East Asia and Africa.

In another strategic development over this period, Gulf Capital successfully raised a USD $215 million for its pioneering credit and mezzanine fund for SMEs, Corporates and Private Equity players to fill the acute funding gap in the region. The Fund received an anchor investment of US$20 million from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank, making it the only fund in the region to have World Bank support.

Organised by CPI Financial, the Banker Middle East Industry Awards is the region’s leading financial event where individual and corporate entities are acknowledged for their distinctive performance in the banking and finance industry. This year over 200 institutions were nominated for 49 awards. The nominations came from across the GCC region including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan and Lebanon. The awards cover a variety of financial services including retail, corporate, investment, private banking, asset management, fund management, finance companies and consultancy practices.

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