Sarah Townsend

United Kingdom

Journalist based in Manchester and previously the UAE. Currently Senior Editor @AGBInsight. Love music, travel, history, food. Views my own.

Articles

Saudi prince to launch $5bn funds for GCC food security

4 days ago | farmlandgrab.org | Sarah Townsend

MSN | 20 June 2025Saudi prince to launch $5bn funds for GCC food securityby Sarah Townsend A Riyadh private equity firm established by a Saudi royal is joining forces with Canadian asset manager Cordiant Group to set up two funds worth $5 billion for agricultural investments across the GCC.
Saudi prince launches $5bn fund for GCC food security

1 week ago | agbi.com | Sarah Townsend

Agriculture Partners with Cordiant GroupTargets agricultural investments Aligns with Vision 2030 goalsA Riyadh private equity firm established by a Saudi royal is joining forces with Canadian asset manager Cordiant Group to set up a $5 billion fund for agricultural investments across the GCC.
Secret records found of alleged NMC fraud, court told

2 weeks ago | agbi.com | Sarah Townsend

Health Healthcare firm collapsed in 2020Alvarez & Marsal suing auditor EYClaim exceeds $2.7bnAdministrators for Abu Dhabi-based NMC Health found internal “cheat sheets” showing the true condition of the company’s finances and detailing “significant payments” to people including founder BR Shetty, a UK court has heard.
Jersey Finance Funds Focus Podcast: A Turning Point For Private Asset Management

4 weeks ago | mondaq.com | Sarah Townsend

In the episode Sarah speaks with Elliot Refson, Head of Funds atJersey Finance and Stuart Pinnington, Director at IQ-EQ. The trio discuss how a number of largely unrelated factors arecoming together to create a period of intense change – changethat is manifested through investor diversification, productdiversification and structural diversification.
International business schools enter Gulf to plug skills gap

1 month ago | agbi.com | Sarah Townsend

Analysis Education UAE and Saudi Arabia targetedShortage of digital skills Customised education preferredDemand for executive education in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other Gulf states is growing as local governments and corporations seek to train the next generation of leaders to support economic and enterprise development goals.
Qatari state faces Swifthold legal action over $6bn debt

1 month ago | agbi.com | Sarah Townsend

EXCLUSIVE Finance Alamy/Grant Rooney Premium Swifthold to request arbitration Debt owed by royal family member Dispute over Libyan property loan Swifthold Foundation, a Panama-registered Anglo-Spanish family office, is mounting legal action against the state of Qatar over a $6 billion debt owed by a member of its royal family, the latest stage in a dispute that dates back more than a decade. Swifthold, whose individual founders or beneficiaries are not publicly known due to the confidential...
UK urged to seek standalone trade deals with Gulf states

1 month ago | agbi.com | Sarah Townsend

Analysis Trade UK-GCC trade talks in third yearBilateral deals likely after bloc pactGCC agreement would be ‘baseline’Trade experts, including a former UK government senior advisor, are questioning why talks between the UK and GCC to secure a free trade agreement are taking so long.
Kuwait wealth fund sues over London tower project

2 months ago | agbi.com | Sarah Townsend

Real Estate Alamy via Reuters Connect KIA to sue Axa Investment ‘Right to light’ dispute Plans for 50 Fenchurch Street Kuwait Investment Authority, the world’s fifth-biggest sovereign wealth fund, is suing global investment company Axa Investment Managers in connection with a planned tower in London’s financial district that risks blocking light to a KIA building. St Martins Property, the investment authority’s property development unit, is suing Hygie, a special purpose vehicle controlled by...
UAE sets up music copyright agency to distribute royalties

2 months ago | agbi.com | Sarah Townsend

Lifestyle Sign of maturing music industrySet up by Ministry of EconomyUAE aims to become creative centreThe UAE government has set up an organisation to collect and distribute royalties on behalf of music copyright holders in what it says is a “new era” for the country’s music industry.
Middle East buyers' interest in UK property grows

2 months ago | agbi.com | Sarah Townsend

Real Estate Middle East buyers 14% of totalEuropean interest fallingLondon among most expensive citiesProspective buyers from the Arabian Gulf and the wider Middle East are taking up a larger share of total international interest in UK real estate, the property broker Hamptons has found.

Journalists covering the same region

Sophie Prideaux

Digital Editor at Condé Nast Traveller (Middle East)

Sophie Prideaux primarily covers news in Doha, Qatar and surrounding areas including Al Rayyan and Lusail.

Shilpa Annie Joseph

Desk Reporter at GCC Business News

Shilpa Annie Joseph primarily covers news in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, including cities like Dammam and Khobar, as well as surrounding areas.