Sidra Capital, a Shariah-compliant financial services company based in Saudi Arabia, together with Gatehouse Bank, a Shariah-compliant wholesale London-based investment bank, plans to collect SR 500 million from investors in the Kingdom, promising attractive returns.
Sidra talked about their plans in Jeddah on Tuesday and held a press conference in Riyadh the same day.
“We hope to collect half a billion riyals from investors before the end of November for the company’s capital expansion,” said Hani Othman Baothman, managing director and CEO of Sidra.
He highlighted the benefits of investment in real estate in the UK, compared to the conventional modes of investment and traditional income from financial houses. He stressed that the company could offer more than seven percent dividends for investment made with the company.
“Saudi-United Kingdom Real Estate Fund (SURF) is open to both UK and international investors and draws on the key strength of the two partners — Gatehouse’s Shariah compliant expertise in the UK’s real estate sector and Sidra’s comprehensive knowledge of alternative investment fund activities in the Middle East.”
Baothman pointed out that the joint venture aims to acquire a diverse real estate portfolio in the UK, offering investors access to one of the world’s most transparent and well-regulated markets.
Adam Cavanagh, head of Real Estate at Gatehouse Bank, said the UK real estate market is considered mature, transparent, well regulated and liquid in comparison with many of its worldwide counterparts. "The lease structure in the UK is favorable compared to the international markets both in terms of lease and tenant obligations.”
Saudi-UK venture courts investors
Saudi-UK venture courts investors
Saudi Arabia’s KAUST named FIFA’s first research institute in MENA
- KAUST President Prof. Sir Edward Byrne said that the university’s selection as the fifth FIFA Research Institute in the world — and the first in the region — marks a significant achievement, reflecting Kingdom’s growing presence in international football
RIYADH: FIFA has designated the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology as its first research institute in the Middle East and Asia to support the development of innovative football research, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday.
The recognition highlights KAUST’s commitment to integrating sports, academic research and industry through advanced, high-level initiatives grounded in rigorous scientific methodologies, contributing to the advancement of football studies.
KAUST President Prof. Sir Edward Byrne said that the university’s selection as the fifth FIFA Research Institute in the world — and the first in the region — marks a significant achievement, reflecting Saudi Arabia’s growing presence in international football.
The accreditation aligns with national efforts to invest in research and development and promote the knowledge economy, supporting Saudi Vision 2030’s goals of building an advanced sports system based on innovation and sustainability.
The collaboration’s first project focuses on developing advanced AI algorithms to analyze historical FIFA World Cup broadcast footage, transforming decades of match videos into structured, searchable data, according to the KAUST website.
This work opens new opportunities to apply state-of-the-art computer vision techniques and deepen understanding of how football has evolved over time.
The second project uses player and ball tracking data from the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar and the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 in Australia and New Zealand to compile comprehensive datasets capturing in-game dynamics.
These datasets provide deeper insights into human movement, playing techniques and performance dynamics through AI-driven analysis.
