Wrotham Partners is a boutique capital advisory firm based in London. We help Western businesses raise growth equity, private capital and debt from family offices, private investors and other capital allocators in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Doha and Kuwait. This note explains why we chose that focus, who we work with, how we charge and how we run a mandate.
The thesis. The Gulf holds some of the largest pools of investable capital in the world, and much of it looks outward. Moody's estimates that the region's sovereign funds manage roughly US$5 trillion, against a GCC private credit market of around US$6 billion. According to Global SWF, the seven largest Gulf sovereign funds deployed US$119 billion in 2025, 43% of all capital invested by state-owned investors that year. Family offices in the region also invest heavily abroad. UBS's Global Family Office Report 2026 found that Middle East family offices hold 50% of their portfolios in North America and 18% in Western Europe, though UBS cautions that its regional sample is small.
A Gulf raise depends on judgement and on relationships that belong to individuals.
The problem we work on. For a mid-market business, the obstacle is usually access. Gulf investors tend to back people they know, and UBS found that only 31% of family offices have a formal process for selecting external providers. Introductions and reputation therefore do much of the work. A strong company with no relationships in the region can spend months in meetings that lead nowhere, or find that its opportunity has been shown to the same investors by several intermediaries at once. Our role is to identify investors whose mandate genuinely fits a business, and then to run a disciplined process from first introduction to completion.
Who we work with. Our clients are Western businesses seeking capital, together with their boards and shareholders. We generally work on raises of about EUR 2 million or more, or the equivalent in other currencies. Below that level, a Gulf process is rarely the most efficient route, and we would rather say so at the outset. Above it, what matters most is fit: a business with a clear use of proceeds, management willing to invest time in relationships, and a board prepared for the scrutiny that serious investors bring.
What we do. We provide Equity Advisory, for businesses raising growth equity, and Debt Advisory, for those raising private credit or other borrowing. Sell-side Advisory supports owners selling a business or a stake in one, and Buy-side Advisory supports those making acquisitions. We act as placement agent where that is the right role. Gulf Capital Advisory runs through all of it, because the way a business presents itself and structures a transaction often needs adjusting for investors in the region, including where an investor requires a Shariah-compliant structure.
How a mandate runs. A mandate usually begins with an honest conversation about fit and timing. If we agree to proceed, we work with management on the materials investors will expect, such as a teaser, an information memorandum, a financial model and an organised data room. We then build a short list of investors whose mandate, ticket size and decision process suit the raise, make introductions, and accompany the company through meetings, term sheets, diligence and completion. Lawyers and other specialists are engaged where the transaction needs them.
How we work. Senior people lead every mandate, and we take on a small number at a time. That is a deliberate choice. A Gulf raise depends on judgement and on relationships that belong to individuals, so we want the senior people a client meets at the outset to stay close to the work throughout. Our Founding Partners are Ali Govani and Dylan Opara. They work with Hasan Al Karim, Head of GCC Coverage; Edward Connolly, Director; Jeremy Finch, Vice President; Olu Ayodeji, Associate; and analysts Zayd Al Faris and Sade Stuart. Our Board of Advisors comprises Shafique Govani and Rashid Al Badri.
Where we sit. We are based in London and have no office in the Gulf. We cover the region through regular travel and the relationships our team has built, with our Head of GCC Coverage leading that work. London keeps us close to many of the businesses we advise and within reach of the investors we introduce them to.
How we charge. We charge an engagement fee set by the size of the raise, plus a success fee on capital raised. The engagement fee is credited against the success fee, so a client that completes a raise does not pay twice for the same work. The engagement fee covers preparation and process work, whatever the outcome. We never ask for a fee to release, unlock or guarantee funds, and no legitimate adviser would.
A worked example of the fee structure. Consider a hypothetical business raising EUR 10 million. At the outset it pays the agreed engagement fee, set by reference to the size of that raise. If the raise completes, a success fee becomes due on the capital actually raised, and the engagement fee already paid is deducted from it. If the raise does not complete, the client has paid only the engagement fee. The structure ties our reward to the outcome the client wants, while the engagement fee pays for the work done before it.
The questions boards ask us. Boards usually want to know which investors we would approach and why, how many, how long a process might take, who on our side will do the work and what happens if no one commits. We answer as plainly as we can. Timing depends on investors' own calendars and committees, and some raises do not complete. We would rather a board hears that before it engages us than discovers it later.
Our record. Most recently, we advised CDN Homes, a London residential property operator, on an AED 40 million growth capital raise from family offices in Riyadh and across the Gulf, acting as exclusive placement agent and financial adviser. Across their careers, including at prior firms, members of our team have raised more than US$2.3 billion across 34 transactions. Past transactions say nothing certain about what a future raise will achieve, and we never promise an outcome.
How we behave. We communicate only from @wrothampartners.com addresses. We never take custody of client or investor money and never ask for passwords or account access; capital moves directly between investor and company. We do not hold ourselves out as authorised by the FCA or any other regulator. Where an activity requires authorisation, it is undertaken by, or with, appropriately authorised parties. Anyone unsure whether a message comes from us can check by writing to contact@wrothampartners.com.
For boards considering Gulf capital, we are glad to talk early, well before a raise begins, at contact@wrothampartners.com. The most useful first conversation is an honest one about fit, and sometimes the right advice is to wait until the accounts are in order and the use of proceeds is clear.
This commentary is provided for general information and reflects the views of Wrotham Partners at the time of writing. It does not constitute investment, legal or financial advice.