Yesterday, the company’s shares spiked substantially after WH Ireland said it was aware of KEH’s plans to strategically invest in the business. KEH finally acknowledged it had acquired a 23.1% stake in WH Ireland worth £8.45m this morning.
Richard Killingbeck WH Ireland CEO said in a statement that the deal with KEH was “good news for WH Ireland, its shareholders, clients and employees.”
“We have moved the business a long way forward over the last 12 months and KEH’s investment reflects the confidence they have in the Company and its strategic development plan. I am pleased to welcome KEH as a long term investor and have no doubt that their involvement will open up significant opportunities for us,” Killingbeck said.
It was also confirmed that as part of the transaction, group CEO Humphrey Percy will serve as a KEH group representative on the WH Ireland board, subject to regulatory approval.
According to Percy, KEH’s strategic investment in WH Ireland will play an essential role in expanding the group’s reach into to the UK financial industry and will be highly complementary to KEH’s existing financial services businesses, Armila Capital and Al-Fouz Investment Company.
The partnership will also provide KEH’s clients with additional products and services not currently available to them and enhance its current offering, he said.
“An important component of KEH’s strategy is to build out a financial services division that can develop a true bridge between investors in Kuwait and elsewhere in the Middle East, and financial markets in Europe, particularly in London. Having a significant stake in a prominent London securities house such as WH Ireland is an exciting next step of this strategy and I look forward to working with the team at WH Ireland to build this partnership,” Percy added.
