As a private concern, Alcazar is able to combine the strength and confidence of a seasoned investment firm with the nimbleness of our entrepreneurial origins. We have invested globally and opportunistically across asset classes and across all levels of the capital structure. We concentrate on long-term opportunities, particularly across all sectors of the financial services industry in which we have developed a particular expertise, relying on unique insights, working relationships with key financial services players across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, and experience to guide our investment choices. Typically, we measure the holding period of our core investments not in weeks or years, but in decades. The average holding period for our portfolio company investments is 22 years. As we are inclined to invest for the long term, we naturally look for solid fundamentals, enduring franchises and other indicators of intrinsic value. When we make substantial investments, it is with an investment thesis of forging lasting partnerships with management teams with exceptional acumen, integrity and track records. Indeed, many of the seed and early-stage investments made by our principals more than 40 years ago today represent some of the Gulf’s leading and most successful commercial and investment banking franchises.
The majority of the Group’s holdings have historically been concentrated in the Middle East.