Safety in numbers

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Eventus Capital currently has one fund under subscription, its UAE real estate investment fund, which was launched in the fourth quarter of 2008.

"The company was established in the summer [of 2008] and with all the legalities involved with the administrators and all the rest of it, the subscription period for this particular fund started just recently, and will continue right through to the end of February," explains Wombwell. "Three more funds will also go live during 2009."

"The actual fund will go live in the early part of March, 2009. Then we'll have three additional funds which we'll be launching in the first half of 2009. This will consist of a GCC real estate fund, a European distressed real estate fund, and an energy fund."

The entry level for the UAE real estate fund rests at just $100,000, leaving the fund accessible to a wider range of investors. Wombwell also notes these investors are not strictly residents in the UAE. In fact, the bulk of investors are from abroad.

"The bulk of our funds come from overseas. We have investors and agents representing our funds in 29 countries," he says. Furthermore, Wombwell expects approximately 90 percent of funding for Eventus Capital's initial scheme - which has a target value of between $30m and $40m - to come from outside of the UAE.

Despite having investors from around the world, the company cannot so freely market its products. "We're a Cayman Island registered fund, and as such, we're restricted on what activity we can do in certain jurisdictions and we have to respect that. There are certain places where we can and can't market our product, and because of the jurisdictional, financial restrictions we can't openly market our funds because we're an offshore fund," he explains.

According to Wombwell, the company thrives by making its services available to "astute investors" and invites such individuals to presentations.

Although suspicions are perhaps often aroused by any mention of offshore organisations - Wombwell admits some investors are not convinced the Cayman Island Monetary Authority is a safe jurisdiction - it is worth mentioning Eventus Capital appears to have gone to great lengths in order to gain ground as a reputable company.

"In order to counter that, what I've done is set-up so that every registered fund has to have an external administrator, and also an external auditor," he explains. Indeed, the companies which have been brought on to undertake such roles are internationally known.

"What I've tried to do is have some big brand names associated with our particular fund. Louvre Group is a very well recognised fund administrator, and has an office in Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and, as such, its operations come under Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) regulations. The DFSA gave them permission - with an amendment to their licence - to administer an external fund company outside of the DIFC," explains Wombwell. Eventus Capital has also enlisted Deloitte Touche as its external fund auditor.

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