Gulf Central Agency Group was founded in 1976 by Ahmed Chedly Azaiez. GCA was first incorporated in Tunisia, operating out of Switzerland and with offices in Tunisia and Kuwait. As a young and motivated entrepreneur, Mr Azaiez’s idea was to create a solid business bridge linking the three continents in the import export and commodity trading arenas through various product sectors.
In the subsequent years GCA grew to become one of the leading trading organisations in the region. Having expanded across Africa, Mr Azaiez was made an honorary consul of the Republic of Liberia, recognising his achievements. Following his death in 2005, his son Hakim Azaiez took up the Gulf Central Agency brand and revived it by re-launching the business in 2011 focusing on financial services and merchant banking.
Contact Form
Address:
100 Pall Mall, St James
London SW1Y 5NQ
contact@gcmerchantbank.com
contact@gcmerchantbank.com
contact@gcmerchantbank.com
Introduction
Gulf Central Merchant Bank Ltd is a London based independent and privately owned financial services firm, GCMB is a UK registered company and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Our core business includes investment management and investment banking services. Headquartered in London and through its multinational team, GCMB offers exceptional services to clients and outstanding access to global financial markets.
History
Gulf Central Agency Group was founded in 1976 by Ahmed Chedly Azaiez. GCA was first incorporated in Tunisia, operating out of Switzerland and with offices in Tunisia and Kuwait. As a young and motivated entrepreneur, Mr Azaiez’s idea was to create a solid business bridge linking the three continents in the import export and commodity trading arenas through various product sectors.
In the subsequent years GCA grew to become one of the leading trading organisations in the region. Having expanded across Africa, Mr Azaiez was made an honorary consul of the Republic of Liberia, recognising his achievements. Following his death in 2005, his son Hakim Azaiez took up the Gulf Central Agency brand and revived it by re-launching the business in 2011 focusing on financial services and merchant banking.
Clients
Our real estate division serves clients in Europe, the UK and GCC countries. This broad base of investor includes mid and large scale developers to institutional asset managers, debt funds and pension companies. We ensure that our clients receive the best information, funding, and development opportunities by networking across these geographical regions. We help developers achieve their objectives in terms of financing, construction and exit, while enabling our investors to hit their return targets all within a regulated environment.
The bank arrange term loans, private placements, equity and mezzanine structures. Our merchant banking licence provides our clients with the opportunity to acquire and dispose of assets in a secure, transparent and price efficient environment.
The bank has clear due diligence processes which provide developers and investors with a high degree of confidence.
We advise on joint venture partnerships, structuring and debt & equity raises on behalf of our clients.
Property Sectors
Explore our property sectors:
Clients
- Developers
- Pension funds
- REITS
- Private equity
- Long income funds
- Institutional debt funds
Introduction
Our real estate division serves clients in Europe, the UK and GCC countries. This broad base of investor includes mid and large scale developers to institutional asset managers, debt funds and pension companies. We ensure that our clients receive the best information, funding, and development opportunities by networking across these geographical regions. We help developers achieve their objectives in terms of financing, construction and exit, while enabling our investors to hit their return targets all within a regulated environment.
The bank arrange term loans, private placements, equity and mezzanine structures. Our merchant banking licence provides our clients with the opportunity to acquire and dispose of assets in a secure, transparent and price efficient environment.
The bank has clear due diligence processes which provide developers and investors with a high degree of confidence.
We advise on joint venture partnerships, structuring and debt & equity raises on behalf of our clients.
Mergers & Acquisitions
We advise clients on acquisition, merger, or sale. We provide valuation analyses structuring, financing and indicative pricing. The Bank plays an instrumental role in guiding our clients in negotiations and final closing.
We adopt a very ‘hands-on’ and committed approach to deal execution. We work closely with our clients and provide access to our wide range of transaction services.
All our senior management have at least 15 years of experience in investment banking or leading asset manager firms that provide world class expertise from initial preparation and planning to agreeing the final legal documentation. We remain involved throughout the negotiation and legal documentation phases working alongside our clients until the transaction is completed.
Our Team
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Hakim Azaiez
Hakim Azaiez is the Chief Executive Officer of the London based Gulf Central Merchant Bank Ltd and Chief Investment Officer of the bank's investment arm Gulf Central Agency Asset Management where he leads the investment management advisory efforts . He has 12 years experience in global markets across all asset classes. He is a founding member of the re-launched GCA. Prior to GCA AM Hakim worked for international banking and financial institutions including DMB, Raiffeisen Bank and Jefferies. He held various roles from sales and trading to portfolio management.
Hakim sits on the board of Gulf Central Merchant Bank and is a member of the Arab British Chamber of Commerce and the Arab Bankers Associations. Hakim holds a BA from Oxford College and a level three certificate from the Charted Institute for Securities & Investments. Hakim is fluent in four languages including English, French, Arabic and Italian.
Chris Baker
Chris heads up our real estate division which covers residential & commercial investment and development across the UK, Europe and the GCC region. He works closely with the CEO to enhance the value within the Bank and promotes the asset management services of the Group.
Chris joined the Bank in 2016 and has over 30 years experience working at leading investment banks such as Morgan Stanley, BNPParibas, IntesaSanPaolo and Kleinwort Benson. He founded his own investment capital management company during the 'liquidity crisis' of 2008/09 and subsequently sold it to Kleinwort Benson in 2010 where he managed the business for 2 years. His experience covers fixed income, capital markets, origination and marketing. He has run sales teams across the UK, Europe, MENA and Asia covering asset classes such as asset backed securities, corporate credit, high yield and real estate investment.
The key to his success has been his ability to understand the needs of his clients and then source investments or developments that match their requirements. His guiding principals in business are fairness, transparency, trust and creating value added services that enhance his clients performance.