Partners Group opens in Dubai

Swiss alterative assets management firm Partners Group has opened an office in Dubai’s International Financial Centre, its first in the Middle East, to support its investment activities and “growing number” of client relationships in the region and India.

The office will be headed by Nick ap Simon, a vice president in the firm’s Investment Solutions team who has relocated from London. In addition, Navneet Maheshwari has relocated from the firm’s Singapore office to better manage Partners Group’s activities in India.

Dubai: now within Partners Group's reach

Dubai is a “logical location” for a new office, said the firm in a statement, due to both the attractive investment opportunities driven by a growing middle class in the Middle East and India, and the increasing number of potential LPs in the region. Infrastructure was highlighted by the firm as one area needing investment and development.

Dubai was one of the areas hardest hit by the recent economic downturn, with many sovereign investment vehicles suffering high profile debt issues over the last year.

Earlier this year, Dubai International Financial Centre chief economist Nasseer Saidi was reported as saying the state-run finance hub would introduce a “comprehensive package including cuts in registration and listing fees of funds” by mid-2010 to attract investment funds to the region. The DIFC offers incentives such as 100 percent foreign ownership and no tax on income and profits.

Swiss listed firm Partners Group has CHF25 billion (€17.5 billion; $21.7 billion) in assets under management across the private equity, private debt, real estate and infrastructure asset classes. The Dubai opening brings Partners Group's total office count to 12, with its other Asian offices situated in Singapore, Beijing, Tokyo and Sydney.