Ardian to take over Abraaj Mayfair office

Nicole Tovstiga
12 September 2018

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Amid ongoing insolvency procedures, troubled emerging markets private equity investor Abraaj has vacated its London office, which will be taken over by France-based PE investor Ardian.

A spokesperson for the joint provisional liquidator of Abraaj Holdings, PwC, told Unquote that the office closure is a normal cost-cutting measure in an insolvency process. Alongside PwC, Deloitte is acting as joint provisional liquidator for Abraaj Investment Management.

The office floor on 1 Grafton Street in Mayfair will be taken over by French private equity giant Ardian, who already occupy an office space in the building, according to the address on the Ardian website.

In February earlier this year, Abraaj suspended its private equity funds as founder Arif Naqvi stepped down from his role as CEO. The move followed allegations of delays in receiving fund returns, put forward by investors including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Bank's IFC division.

The firm announced in June that its Cayman Islands-based holding company was filing for liquidation. A week later, US-based private equity firm Colony Capital agreed to acquire Abraaj's Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa and Turkey funds management businesses.