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

Jersey Finance Funds Focus Podcast: A Turning Point For Private Asset Management

1 week 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 week 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

2 weeks 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

1 month 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

1 month 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

1 month 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.
Mid-East passenger demand keeps rising but cargo slows

2 months ago | agbi.com | Sarah Townsend

Aviation Slight fall from ‘extraordinary’ 2024Total global demand up 3%Air-cargo demand growth slowsMiddle Eastern carriers have reported a yearly increase in passenger demand in February, albeit slightly down on the previous month because of factors including trade tensions, according to the International Air Transport Association (Iata).
Review deals latest blow to Sidara’s takeover of John Wood

2 months ago | agbi.com | Sarah Townsend

Construction Setback to Sidara bid for John Wood Review shows Wood’s finance issues Adjustments to statements incoming UAE construction consultancy Sidara is facing another setback in its planned takeover of British oil services firm John Wood Group, which this week said it had to restate its financial results and probably suspend its shares after a review found information had been withheld from auditors. Dubai-based Sidara, formerly Dar Global, was in discussions last year over a potential...
UAE dominates UK overseas mortgage market

2 months ago | agbi.com | Sarah Townsend

Real Estate Middle East tops international sales30% of UK brokers work with UAE Favourable exchange rate for overseasProperty buyers from the Middle East – particularly the UAE – are among the top international clients for UK mortgage brokers, according to new research.