Bahrain is planning to plough more cash into the UK through a series of investments, including in the North of England, The Mail on Sunday understands.
The Gulf country’s sovereign wealth fund, the Mumtalakat, is looking at potential deals in the property, tourism and banking industries, a senior source told The Mail on Sunday.
The source added that the Mumtalakat was eyeing up prospects emerging from the ‘re-industrialisation’ of the North of England and that the UK could ‘make Brexit a strength’ if the economy was adapted appropriately.
Other areas of interest include the healthcare and hospitality sectors.
Set up in 2006, the Mumtalakat is not as large as the sovereign wealth funds of some of its neighbours but still holds an estimated £14.4 billion worth of assets.
Capital: The skyline of Manama City, where the Mumtalakat fund is based
Its best-known UK investment is Woking-based racing car maker McLaren, which last month saw investors approve a restructuring of the firm that will make it easier to sign partnerships with other motoring groups.
The Mumtalakat source said the fund was ‘very opportunistic’ about expanding the UK portion of its portfolio, following countries such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia, who in recent years have bought up property, sports teams and stakes in British companies.
It follows comments from Mumtalakat’s chief executive Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa last month when he said the fund should become ‘an engine for deals’ and expand internationally.
Britain and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are in negotiations around a free trade agreement that could be worth £23.5 billion a year. The GCC bloc consists of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Combined, they make up the UK’s fourth largest export market behind the US, the EU and China. Last week Greg Hands, the minister for trade policy, visited Bahrain and Qatar to ‘spur on’ the talks, which have been under way since June 2022. It is understood concerns remain about the negotiations, with diplomats and businesses keen to get the deal over the line.
Gulf countries, buoyed by massive oil and gas wealth, have poured billions of pounds into the UK in recent years through their sovereign wealth funds. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund owns Newcastle United FC and is the second-largest shareholder in car maker Aston Martin. Qatar controls a vast property portfolio that includes London’s Shard skyscraper and department store Harrods.
Moves to strengthen economic ties with the Gulf come as the war between Israel and Hamas puts diplomatic relations under strain.
Concerns of a wider conflagration grew last week as the UK and US carried out airstrikes on Iranian-backed Houthi rebels after repeated missile and drone attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, a key international trade route. Bahrain is the only Gulf country publicly supporting the effort to protect shipping.
