The Rise and Fall of Gulf Finance House

Abstract

This paper dissects the balance sheet and business model of Gulf Finance, and scrutinizes the existence of a "pre-exit premium" in their activities – on top of the usual exit fees and/or performance fees. The study suggests that this practice (uncommon even for conventional Private Equity businesses – much less for an Islamic Private Equity house) was pioneered by GFH and it is this same practice that brought them down to their knees.