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Middle East

Lego sales drop but family rebuilds for 2018

March 6, 2018

Flat global sales and corporate streamlining are behind an 8% drop in revenue for 2017, the Danish family owned Lego Group announced today.

Flat global sales and corporate streamlining are behind an 8% drop in revenue for 2017, the Danish family owned Lego Group announced today.

Revenue for the full year fell after more than a decade of strong growth to DKK 35 billion ($5.8 billion) from DKK 37.9 billion ($6.3 billion) in 2016. The decline came despite a Lego movie and Star Wars merchandise tie-ins and the royal opening of the Lego House family attraction last year.

Golden tickets: the new face of luxury travel

January 31, 2018

Your family is in need of some downtime, but with a splash of glamour. So where do you go? And how are our luxury escapes changing? Alison Ebbage speaks to Philippe Brown, founder of bespoke travel planners Brown and Hudson

Your family is in need of some downtime, but with a splash of glamour. So where do you go? And how are our luxury escapes changing? Alison Ebbage speaks to Philippe Brown, founder of bespoke travel planners Brown and Hudson

View from the Gulf: Tackling the Gulf succession crisis

November 23, 2017

This has been the debate here—how to convince elder patriarchs that succession planning will fit with their life and afterlife. When they reach their 70s or 80s, they are preoccupied with facing God, not legacy, and so this region is at risk of losing big businesses.

The Arabian Gulf as we know it did not exist more than 50 years ago, as far as world maps were concerned, and while the region emerged in wealth due to oil and gold, the wealth was concentrated in tribal families.

Demand for bespoke structuring popular among ultra-wealthy

June 28, 2017

What are the attitudes of the Middle East and Far East ultra-wealthy at the coalface of financial services? James Campbell, newly appointed partner in Ogier's Jersey private client and trusts team, looks at trends within the international private client space.

Why is bespoke structuring on the rise?

Infographic: Saudi Arabian family businesses

June 13, 2017

While Saudi Arabian family businesses do not dominate the economy to the extent seen with family firms in some other Gulf states, they nevertheless play a crucial role in the country’s economy. But ties to the petroleum sector makes some of them vulnerable to oil price fluctuations, as recent events show. Daniel Bardsley takes a look

Education benefits in rising billion dollar philanthropy

November 29, 2016

The amount given in philanthropic efforts in the United Kingdom, United States and Middle East has rocketed from $17 billion to $56 billion a year, a new report says.

The amount given in philanthropic efforts in the United Kingdom, United States and Middle East has rocketed from $17 billion to $56 billion a year, a new report says.

The fourth international edition of the Coutts Million Dollar Donors Report, released this week, also found 85% of the value of the 2,197 donations in January to December 2015 were given by individuals and the rest by corporations or foundations.

A Family's Story: Governance and leadership in the Middle East

August 16, 2016

In the third of this four-part series of case studies, Zita Nikoletta Verbenyi reports on three governance challenges overcome by a diversified family enterprise from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

In the third of this four-part series of case studies, Zita Nikoletta Verbenyi reports on three governance challenges overcome by a diversified family enterprise from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

In respect of their wishes, we have kept the name of this family anonymous while trying to share as much detail as possible.

Family Business Council-Gulf launches first bilingual guide to succession

June 3, 2016

Middle Eastern family businesses facing the challenges of planning succession are set to benefit from the region’s first bilingual governance code.

Middle Eastern family businesses facing the challenges of planning succession are set to benefit from the region’s first bilingual governance code.

The voluntary guide is aimed at large businesses that are going through either first, second, or third generation transitions.

It is a response by the Family Business Council-Gulf (FBCG), the regional association of Family Business Network, to the growing issue of succession in the six countries within the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC).

Khimji Ramdas Group: Governance and leadership in the Middle East

May 11, 2016

Khimji Ramdas Group started as a trade-based family business in Oman in 1870 and is now a diversified conglomerate working with more than 400 global brands. In the second of this four-part series of case studies, Zita Nikoletta Verbenyi reports on two governance challenges overcome by the Ramdas family.

Born from necessity: Second-gen Ghassan Nuqul on the Nuqul Group

April 22, 2016

Seven decades ago the Nuqul family was fleeing Palestine by foot; today they head up one of Jordan’s largest family businesses. Jessica Tasman-Jones spoke with its second-generation chairman about how his family business has weathered the region’s geopolitical risk and the importance of good corporate governance

Seven decades ago the Nuqul family was fleeing Palestine by foot; today they head up one of Jordan’s largest family businesses. Jessica Tasman-Jones spoke with its second-generation chairman about how his family business has weathered the region’s geopolitical risk and the importance of good corporate governance

“My father was deprived of higher education because he did not have the means. At the time he should have been at university he was crossing the borders by foot.”