Providing our clients with a broad range of alternative investments
Investcorp was established in 1982 to facilitate the flow of capital from the Gulf region into private equity investments in Western companies with high potential for growth and returns in excess of traditional asset classes. From its inception, Investcorp has focused on developing deep relationships with top-tier individuals and prime institutions in the six Gulf Co-operation Council countries of the Arabian Gulf who have a particular demand for international alternative investment products. The Gulf states of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman and the United Arab Emirates generate large annual surplus funds, and alternative investment products represent a growing proportion of their investable assets, reflecting international trends.

Our determination to focus on serving the needs of such clients has led Investcorp to develop a range of alternative investment opportunities, offered through six lines of business. These diversified investment products each offer clients a different level of risk, return and liquidity, contributing to a portfolio of offerings that cover a majority of the alternative asset classes:

• Private equity investment in North America and Western Europe offers the opportunity to make investments with the potential for attractive capital gain in the medium term.
• Hedge funds, principally on a fund of fund basis, offer further diversification to clients who prefer a more liquid form of investment.
• Real estate investment in the United States offers clients an investment opportunity with strong cash flows, as well as potential for attractive capital gain.
• Technology investment in North America and Western Europe offers the opportunity to make venture capital investments in selected technology sectors.
• Gulf growth capital investment in greenfield projects or buyout opportunities in the Gulf region.
• MENA mezzanine fund investment in mezzanine debt financing in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region and Turkey.

Investcorp funds its private equity and real estate investment acquisitions with a combination of debt and equity. Debt financing is provided by the world's leading financial institutions. Investcorp underwrites the equity portion and then places this equity with clients (see Placement and relationship management). Investcorp differentiates itself from other private equity firms in that investments are normally offered individually to clients on a deal-by-deal basis - a model that reflects Gulf investor preferences for investment discretion, where many high-net-worth investors are hands-on business owners themselves.