Alvarez & Marsal opens new offices in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh

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

The expansion into the capitals of Saudi Arabia and the UAE comes on the back of strong growth and is part of its ambitious roadmap to double its workforce to more than 200 consultants and 200 consultants by the end of next year. Staff.

Alvarez & Marsal officially launched in the Middle East in 2008 with the opening of its Dubai office.The company has long operated a small field team, but has been Rapid acceleration since 2019. The company roughly doubles every year and plans to repeat its achievements in 2022 and 2023.

“Our remarkable growth in the Middle East over the past year is continuing at a rapid pace with the opening of offices in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh,” said Middle East co-head Paul Gilbert alvarez and marsal.

Much of the company’s growth is due to its strong transformation and restructuring products. Alvarez & Marsal firmly established itself as a global leader in the Lehman Brothers case when it became one of the lead restructuring advisors in the Lehman case — still the largest bankruptcy filing in history, involving more than $600 billion assets.

In the region, Alvarez & Marsal has been appointed as restructuring advisors on several high-profile cases, including Healthcare company NMC Group (now successfully completed).

The company’s track record in the field culminated in Alvarez & Marsal being named Top Restructuring Consulting Firms for 2022in the Middle East rankings recently released by Consultancy.org.

Alvarez & Marsal has also increasingly benefited from scrutiny of the Big Four’s role in the restructuring scene. “Leaders in the region have taken an increasingly tough stance on audit conflicts following the failures of some high-profile firms – especially in Saudi Arabia, where new legislation effectively ends audit firms’ provision of non-audit services to audit clients capacity, which created a real need for independent advice,” explains Gilbert.

Further reading: Leading restructuring consultancy on the rise in the Gulf

In addition to restructuring, the New York-based consulting firm provides clients with corporate finance, performance improvement, M&A, as well as controversies and investigations. The firm also has a business dedicated to serving private equity groups.

To support expansion in the Middle East, Alvarez & Marsal has appointed co-head of the region, James Dervin, relocated from the firm’s London office.

“Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia are drivers of progress in the region and beyond, and each is at a different stage of development with its own unique requirements. Alvarez & Marsal fully understands the need to commit to these markets, so we do made the strategic decision to build a local team,” Dervin said.

Antonio (Tony) Alvarez III, who leads Alvarez & Marsal in EMEA, said: “Our growing suite of services in the Middle East demonstrates our commitment to the market. We are free from audit conflicts, operational traditions and results-oriented mentality, offering a different long-term value proposition to local customers.”

Meanwhile, in Europe, Alvarez & Marsal has also expanded organically and inorganically over the past year (especially in Spain, where the company has Poached a 60-person Ernst & Young team).