Fursa Consulting sets benchmarks in corporate advisory services

Please share a brief on your brand and service portfolio.

Incorporated in 2014 under a professional banking and management consulting license issued by the Department of Economic Development, Government of Dubai, Fursa Consulting is a leading independent corporate advisory firm focusing on providing financial advice on structured debt, equity, mergers and acquisitions and strategy to corporates and institutional clients. Our firm fosters long-term relationships with clients as their independent adviser on corporate and strategic matters and transactions. Our team at Fursa comprises of experienced banking professionals with strong academic and corporate / risk management backgrounds.

With extensive knowledge of local and international markets (GCC, Europe, Asia) and access to leading market players, our team is well positioned to facilitate and execute transactions.

As the lead for one of the most recognised business advisory firms in the region, what are the main trends you perceive in your business space in the UAE?

With current buzz and acceptability of artificial intelligence (AI), the cloud, the metaverse, new corporate governance & financial reporting, evolving at a fast pace, has pushed corporates to reposition their business functionalities to benefit from such advancements by improving in areas of financial reporting, credit controls, corporate governance, maximizing business efficiencies. We see a lot of automation/digitalisation happening not only in corporate business but in much advanced form in banking and FI space with the objective to bring in efficiency, transparency and risk elimination.

All these good changes, open much wider business opportunities for us to facilitate our clients in assisting them to adapt these changes and integrate well into the new business ecosystem.

How are markets for structured debt evolving in a post-covid world?

The recent past witnessed a substantial hike in interest rate exceeding above 5 per cent mark, forcing businesses to rethink their debt needs and significantly adjust their business cash flow to absorb the negative impact of higher interest rate.

However, there is now a general improvement in risk appetite based on the expectations of a less severe upward trajectory rates and slower inflation. We expect this trend to continue fostering corporate lending to grow on relatively reduced rates. This will create business opportunities for us to advise our client in identification of a suitable debt structure.

What does Fursa Consulting’s specialised services arm offer clients?

Under our Strategy business vertical, we offer our clients various periodic monitoring servicers to prepare accurate, reliable financial reporting as required by their lenders, advise clients on good corporate governance, we also advise clients on a holistic business re-engineering exercise to optimize shareholders value etc.

How do you see client servicing evolving in your niche field of work here in the Middle East over the next decade, and how well placed is Fursa Consulting to be in step with change?

We are proud to have a vast pool of lender affiliations covering Asia, MENA and Europe. However, keeping pace with the ever evolving improved and efficient products/specialised funding needs of our clients, we are always expanding our lenders bandwidth (bank, FI, family offices, funds etc.) to provide suitable structures which meets the clients need. Noting client expectations are always unique and complex, yet it’s critical and important to respond to them with an adequate structure in timely manner.

The core fundamental of Fursa’s business philosophy is of utmost importance to an active client relationship.