Alvarez & Marsal launches new offices in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh

08 August 2022 Consultancy-me.com

Global management consultancy Alvarez & Marsal has simultaneously launched two new offices in the Middle East, adding Riyadh and Abu Dhabi to its existing footprint in Dubai.

The expansion into Saudi Arabia and the UAE’s capital city comes on the back of stellar growth and is part of its ambitious roadmap to double its headcount to over 200 consultants and staff by the end of next year.

Alvarez & Marsal officially launched in the Middle East with its Dubai office in 2008. The firm operated long with a small on the ground team, but has been accelerating rapidly since 2019. The firm has roughly doubled every year, and aims to repeat its achievement in 2022 and 2023.

Alvarez & Marsal launches new offices in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh

“Our significant growth in the Middle East over the past year is continuing rapidly with the opening of the Abu Dhabi and Riyadh offices,” said Paul Gilbert, Middle East co-head at Alvarez & Marsal.

The firm owes much of its growth to its powerhouse turnaround and restructuring offering. Alvarez & Marsal firmly established itself as one of the globe’s leaders in the segment when it became one of the lead restructuring advisers on the Lehman Brothers case – which still is the largest bankruptcy filing in history, involving over $600 billion in assets.

In the region, Alvarez & Marsal was appointed as the restructuring consultant to several high-profile cases, including the restructuring of healthcare company NMC Group (which has now been successfully completed).

The firm’s track record in the space culminated in Alvarez & Marsal being named one of the Top Restructuring consulting firms for 2022, in Consultancy.org’s recently released ranking for the Middle East.

Alvarez & Marsal is also increasingly benefitting from growing scrutiny on the role of the Big Four in the restructuring scene. “Following some high-profile corporate failures, the region’s leadership are taking an increasingly tough stance on audit conflicts – particularly in Saudi Arabia, where new legislation effectively ends audit firms’ ability to provide non-audit services to audit clients, creating a real need for independent advice,” explained Gilbert.

Further reading: Leading restructuring consulting firms ramping up in Gulf

Beyond restructuring, the New York-headquartered consulting firm also supports clients with corporate finance, performance improvement, mergers & acquisitions, and disputes & investigations. The firm in addition has a practice dedicated to serving private equity groups.

To support the Middle East expansion drive, Alvarez & Marsal has appointed a co-head for the region, with James Dervin relocating from the firm’s London office to the region.

“Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia are drivers of progress in the region and beyond, each at different stages of development, with their own unique requirements. Alvarez & Marsal fully understands the need to make a commitment to these markets, hence our strategic decision to build locally-based teams,” said Dervin.

Antonio (Tony) Alvarez III, who leads Alvarez & Marsal across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said: “Our expanding suite of services in the Middle East demonstrates our commitment to the market. Our freedom from audit conflicts, operational legacy and results oriented mindset offers a different and long-term value proposition for local clients.”

Meanwhile, in Europe, Alvarez & Marsal has similarly been expanding over the past year, through both organic means as well as inorganic activity (most notably in Spain where the firm poached a 60-strong EY team).

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