 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| BHSE:GFH DFM: GFH | |
| Founded | 1999; 26 years ago (1999) |
| Headquarters | Bahrain Financial Harbour,, |
Area served | Middle East |
Key people | Hisham Alrayes (CEO) |
| Services | Investment banking |
| Divisions | Wealth Management Commercial Banking Asset Management Real estate investment |
| Subsidiaries | GFH Capital |
| Website | gfh |
GFH Financial Group, previously known asGulf Finance House, is anIslamicinvestment bank with headquarters inBahrain Financial Harbour,Bahrain.[1]
One of its most notable investments was a 25% stake in the English football clubLeeds United[2] through their wholly owned subsidiary, Dubai-based GFH Capital, having initially acquired 100% ownership of the club fromKen Bates in December 2012.[3] On 7 February 2014 GFH Capital announced that they had exchanged contracts for the sale of Leeds toMassimo Cellino's family consortium 'Eleonora Sport Ltd'. The deal saw the Cellino family acquire a 75% ownership of the club in April 2014 after winning an appeal against the Football League's decision initially to block the sale.[4] WhenAndrea Radrizzani bought the club, GFH sold all of their shares in Leeds United in May of 2017. Salem Patel, a non executive director of GFH, created an account on a popular Leeds United fan forum, named ‘Melas’ (Salem, backwards) to ask question about signing players and to share positive news about GFH with the fans. This was exposed fairly quickly and fans protested against their ownership and the ownership of Massimo Cellino on many occasions including marches and mock funerals outside of the club’s stadium.
GFH was established in the Kingdom of Bahrain in 1999 under a license granted by theCentral Bank of Bahrain (CBB). Since its inception, GFH raised over US$11 billion of investments. The bank carries on its business activities in accordance with the principles of IslamicSharia, including financial servicesinvestment andcommercial transaction,negotiable financial instrument,real estate andinfrastructure; in addition to structured finance,securities andliquidity management designed to achieve profitable returns for investors.
GFH was transferred to aPublic Shareholding Company in 2004 with its shares being listed on theBahrain Stock Exchange,Kuwait Stock Exchange andDubai Financial Market. In 2007, GFH listed its GDR’s on theLondon Stock Exchange.
In November 2014, GFH released a new identity when it moved from being an investment bank to a financial group. The new name for the group was GFH Financial Group.[5]
GFH's business lines cover aspects of financial services, from financial and investments to commercial banking operations. GFH's range of activities areReal Estate Development,Commercial Banking,Wealth Management andAsset Management. GFH splits its asset management activities into two areas:Corporate Investment andReal Estate Investment.[6]
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