Bahrain’s recent announcement of $17 billion of inward investment at its Gateway Gulf conference earlier this month has underscored the kingdom’s growing role as one of the Gulf’s most open and internationally-oriented financial centres.
Long overshadowed by larger neighbours, Bahrain is now positioning itself as a key link between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states, Asia and the West – a role that is attracting renewed attention from UK and European investors seeking growth, diversification and partnership opportunities.
The $17bn package includes major projects in financial services, logistics, tourism, and infrastructure, signalling the kingdom’s commitment to deploying capital into sectors aligned with its long-term diversification strategy.
The “Team Bahrain” approach – an integrated government and regulatory framework – appeals to international firms for its efficiency and pragmatism.
Former UK Minister for Investment Lord Gerry Grimstone, who attended the conference, praised Bahrain’s “stable leadership, clear economic vision and ease of doing business,” emphasising that the Gulf region “offers predictability at a time when global volatility has made that a rare commodity”.
Gateway between east and west
Bahrain’s leadership has promoted the country as a “bridge” between regional and global capital, a theme echoed by Hazem Ben-Gacem, CEO of BlueFive Capital a Bahrain-headquartered asset manager launched less than a year ago and already managing $6 billion.
“Our mission,” Ben-Gacem explains, “is to support local champions in the Middle East to go global, and to back the investment flows between the Gulf, Asia and Europe”.
BlueFive’s structure reflects this ambition: seven offices across Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Muscat, London, Beijing and Singapore, anchoring its investment platform across the world’s fastest-growing trade corridors.
Its focus spans private equity and real assets, targeting sectors from financial services and logistics to technology and consumer industries.
Ben-Gacem is no newcomer to the business: he spent 30 years at Bahrain-based alternatives investment manager Investcorp. With BlueFive, he says he is building on that legacy while adapting to new geopolitical and economic realities: a shift towards capital flows linking the GCC and Asia, and a desire among regional investors to invest not only locally but across the emerging markets of Asia and Africa.
“The Gulf doesn’t need another mid-market Western fund,” he said. “It needs investment strategies that reflect our macro reality: the energy transition, logistics, minerals and faith-based tourism are all growth engines here.”
Tourism and infrastructure
Ben-Gacem described the transformation of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 as a defining opportunity for investors in real assets. Religious tourism alone is expected to triple from 10 million to 30 million annual visitors to Mecca and Medina over the next decade.
BlueFive plans to participate in developing infrastructure along the historic Hijra trail between the two holy cities, integrating transportation, logistics and faith-based experiences.
Beyond Saudi Arabia, the firm’s new office in Oman will focus on the port of Duqm: a strategic maritime and logistics hub connecting the Arabian Sea with global trade routes and on the planned GCC-wide rail network.
“The Gulf’s rail and logistics development is a century late,” Ben-Gacem noted, “but it will transform the region’s connectivity and trade flow.”
The UK Connection: investment, collaboration and scale-up capital
The UK’s financial ecosystem, particularly in asset management, remains deeply entwined with the Gulf.
Lord Grimstone, who served as UK Investment Minister under the last Conservative administration, highlighted how British asset managers and financial services firms are increasingly present across the GCC. “It would be rare now to find a financial services firm that isn’t represented here,” he said. “This is one of the most interesting markets for financial activity in the world today.”
The forthcoming UK–GCC Free Trade Agreement, though complex, could further strengthen this relationship by formalising cooperation in financial services, sustainable investment and fintech.
Grimstone, who helped initiate the negotiations, emphasised that “each GCC nation has its own priorities,” but that once concluded, the deal would open vast new channels for bilateral investment.
Meanwhile, London’s Lord Mayor Alastair King – who attended the conference in his last week in office – sees the region not just as a source of capital but as a destination for UK institutional investment.
The Mansion House Accord, signed earlier this year, commits 17 of the UK’s largest pension funds to invest £100 billion over four years (half domestically, half globally) into alternative assets such as infrastructure and private equity.
“Some of that,” King noted, “should find its way into the GCC. Open, well-regulated economies like Bahrain are natural partners for British pension capital.”
Private Capital’s Moment in the Gulf
The Middle East’s private capital ecosystem has matured rapidly. Sovereign wealth funds remain dominant, but private asset managers like BlueFive are filling the space between state and global capital.
According to Ben-Gacem, “We are the only group that has all the royal families in the Gulf as founding shareholders.” That endorsement, alongside backing from two major sovereign institutions, underscores the institutionalisation of the region’s private markets.
These new entrants are also globalising. BlueFive recently launched a renminbi-denominated private equity fund in China, backed by major sovereign investors from Shanghai province in a first for a GCC-based manager.
The initiative symbolises how Gulf investors are moving beyond oil wealth into cross-border, multi-currency fund management platforms.
Opportunities for UK and European Investors
For European and UK asset managers, Bahrain and the wider GCC present opportunities across fundraising and partnerships. With sovereign and private capital pools across the Gulf now worth trillions, western managers can partner with local firms to raise capital for global deployment. “Asset managers need to go where the money is,” Grimstone observed succinctly.
The Middle East also offers co-investment in alternative assets. From renewables and logistics to healthcare and fintech, GCC investors are increasingly open to co-investing alongside experienced European managers with operational and governance expertise.
The region also offers opportunities in fund structuring and domiciliation, with Bahrain (a former British protectorate until its independence 1971), benefiting from a common law framework, flexible regulation and English-language arbitration. As King remarked, “Open, well-regulated economies like doing business with other open, well-regulated economies.”
From Capital Exporter to Capital Partner
Historically, Gulf wealth flowed westward into passive investments and real estate. That pattern is changing. As Ben-Gacem explains, “We are not just deploying capital anymore: we are building investment platforms that are active participants in global growth.”
This transition aligns with King’s campaign to push UK pensions and family offices toward “scale-up capital”, funding companies between £5m and £30m that traditional banks overlook.
As Bahrain deepens its ties with London and European financial centres, the region’s asset management landscape is evolving from a destination for capital into a partner in capital formation. Both sides bring complementary strengths: the Gulf’s liquidity and growth ambition, and Europe’s long-established experience in governance, sustainability and fund management.
While UK and European institutions are searching for growth and diversification beyond mature markets. Bahrain’s role as a neutral, efficient and connected hub positions it at the heart of this realignment.
As Lord Grimstone put it, “In a time of unpredictability, the Gulf offers stability. And stability, for investors, is the new alpha.”