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Kuwaiti group KEH takes 23 percent stake in WH Ireland

Kuwaiti European Holdings Group (KEH) has bought 23.1% of the shares in WH Ireland, one of London’s best-known brokers and wealth managers, the company confirmed on Monday.

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As part of the deal, the KEH chief executive Humphrey Percy will become a representative on WH Ireland’s board, the Arabian Gulf company said.

The purchase of shares in WH Ireland is a strategic investment for KEH, created to further augment and expand the group’s interest in and commitment to the UK’s financial industry.

It said the WH Ireland business and strategy would fit well with KEH’s financial services businesses, Armila Capital and Al-Fouz Investment Company.

The partnership will also provide KEH’s clients with additional products and services not now available to them and enhance its current offering, he said.

Chief executive Richard Killingbeck said: “The Board and I are very pleased to welcome our new shareholder in WH Ireland”.

WH Ireland, which offers private wealth management, wealth planning and corporate broking services, said it would work with KEH Group to accelerate its growth opportunities.

WH Ireland expects to be able to help support this growth, Mr Killingbeck said. This news story is related to Print/151315-Kuwaiti-group-takes-23pc-WH-Ireland-stake/ – breaking news, latest news, pakistan ne.

Launched in 2008, KEH owns a portfolio of investments across the continent and the middle east.

WH Ireland, which has a market capitalisation of 26.9 million pounds as of Friday’s close, was fined 1.2 million pounds by Britain’s financial regulator in February, for inadequate controls to prevent trading abuses.

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The biggest shareholder in WH Ireland’s rival Panmure Gordon & Co is Qatari investment bank QInvest, with a 43.43 percent stake, according to Thomson Reuters data.

WH Ireland confirms Kuwaiti investors looking to buy stake