Property

Hill International chief executive departs

David Richter had been chief executive since 2014, taking over from his father, Irvin Richter, who founded the project management company back in 1976.

Michael Fahy
Michael Fahy

May 04, 2017

David Richter, the chief executive of Hill International, is to leave the firm with immediate effect.

Mr Richter is set to be replaced as interim chief executive by Paul Evans. Mr Evans is one of three directors who joined the firm last September and who were nominated by activist investor Bulldog Investors following a proxy dispute.

Mr Richter had been chief executive since 2014, taking over from his father, Irvin Richter, who founded the project management company back in 1976. Irvin Richter had remained as chairman, but stepped down from this role when the three activist investors were voted in last September.

Hill International subsequently announced that it would sell off its construction claims divi­sion to Bridgepoint Capital in a deal that was initially worth $147 million.

However, the company announced on Wednesday evening that the deal would now only be worth $140m, and that the amount of working capital the company needs to make available to Bridgepoint had been increased by $3m to $38.4m.

Hill International will also need to provide guarantees regarding some of the construction claims group’s outstanding liabilities.

The sell-off was supposed to conclude by the end of March, but will now conclude today.

Hill International also revealed first-quarter results for 2017, which showed a 20 per cent year-on-year decline in revenue to $107.6m, which it blamed on a 36.7 per cent drop in consulting fee revenue from the Middle East, which is its biggest market, responsible for just under half of its 2016 revenue.

Its Latin American arm was also subject to a 41.5 per cent decline in consulting fees. The firm reported a net loss of $7.1m, compared with a profit of $1.5m a year earlier.

Speaking about his departure, David Richter, who had worked at Hill International for 22 years, said that he felt it had been important to remain at the helm until the sale of the construction claims group had been finalised.

“This sale will significantly improve Hill’s financial position and create opportunities for growth that were not possible prior to the sale,” he said. “I am extremely proud of the team we have built at Hill and I am honoured to have served as CEO of such an outstanding organisation.“

Craig Martin, the chairman of Hill International, said: “David was an integral part of Hill’s growth and the driving force behind the sale of the claims group. He is leaving on a very high note having orchestrated the most important transaction in Hill’s history.”

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Is it worth it? We put cheesecake frap to the test.

The verdict from the nutritionists is damning. But does a cheesecake frappuccino taste good enough to merit the indulgence?

My advice is to only go there if you have unusually sweet tooth. I like my puddings, but this was a bit much even for me. The first hit is a winner, but it's downhill, slowly, from there. Each sip is a little less satisfying than the last, and maybe it was just all that sugar, but it isn't long before the rush is replaced by a creeping remorse. And half of the thing is still left.

The caramel version is far superior to the blueberry, too. If someone put a full caramel cheesecake through a liquidiser and scooped out the contents, it would probably taste something like this. Blueberry, on the other hand, has more of an artificial taste. It's like someone has tried to invent this drink in a lab, and while early results were promising, they're still in the testing phase. It isn't terrible, but something isn't quite right either.

So if you want an experience, go for a small, and opt for the caramel. But if you want a cheesecake, it's probably more satisfying, and not quite as unhealthy, to just order the real thing.

 

 

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Basquiat in Abu Dhabi

One of Basquiat’s paintings, the vibrant Cabra (1981–82), now hangs in Louvre Abu Dhabi temporarily, on loan from the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. 

The latter museum is not open physically, but has assembled a collection and puts together a series of events called Talking Art, such as this discussion, moderated by writer Chaedria LaBouvier. 

It's something of a Basquiat season in Abu Dhabi at the moment. Last week, The Radiant Child, a documentary on Basquiat was shown at Manarat Al Saadiyat, and tonight (April 18) the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is throwing the re-creation of a party tonight, of the legendary Canal Zone party thrown in 1979, which epitomised the collaborative scene of the time. It was at Canal Zone that Basquiat met prominent members of the art world and moved from unknown graffiti artist into someone in the spotlight.  

“We’ve invited local resident arists, we’ll have spray cans at the ready,” says curator Maisa Al Qassemi of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. 

Guggenheim Abu Dhabi's Canal Zone Remix is at Manarat Al Saadiyat, Thursday April 18, from 8pm. Free entry to all. Basquiat's Cabra is on view at Louvre Abu Dhabi until October

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