Fahed Boodai

Fahed Faisal Boodai (Arabic: فهد فيصل بودي) is a Kuwaiti entrepreneur. He is the chairman and co-founder of Gatehouse Financial Group as well as vice chairman and CEO of The Securities House.

Fahed Boodai
فهد فيصل بودي
Born	Fahed Faisal Boodai
Alma mater	University of San Diego Loyola Marymount, MBA
Occupation	Investment banker

Education

Boodai received an MBA from the Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, and a Bachelor's degree in International Business from the University of San Diego.^[1][2]

Career

Boodai's career started at The Securities House in 1997. He worked as the investment director in the Fund Management Department, and was initially responsible for The Securities House international investments. In 1998, he established Global Securities House (GSH) in San Francisco. In 2002, Boodai relocated GSH to Kuwait and changed the company’s focus to real estate following the downturn of world equity markets.^[3]

Boodai is also co-founder and chairman of Gatehouse Bank PLC (Gatehouse), a London-based bank specialising in Shariah-compliant products and services. He is also the founder, chairman of Gatehouse Capital, formally known as Global Securities House Kuwait.^[4][5]

Boodai is also recognised for promoting Gatehouse’s competitive advantage in the UK private rented sector, where the bank was the first mover, bringing new family homes to the rental market in the Midlands, Greater Manchester and Merseyside regions.^[6] Gatehouse has also been strategically positioned as a retail challenger bank, offering Home Purchase Plans (a Shariah-compliant equivalent of mortgages) for home-movers and landlords,^[7] alongside competitive, award-winning savings products.^[8]

Gatehouse Group acquired an industrial portfolio in the United States in partnership with the Brennan Investment Group in 2013.^[9] Brennan made its ninth such portfolio acquisition alongside Gatehouse's close partners, Arch Street Capital Advisors, in 2021.^[10]

In 2019 Boodai won the Award for Business at Arabian Business' first edition of Arabian Business London Awards.^[11]

Gatehouse Bank - 2021 Growth

Gatehouse Bank achieved exceptional growth in 2021, despite economic headwinds, thanks to the expansion of its ethical product offering.

Key highlights:

Record number of Home Finance originations

1. Home Finance offering for UK residents, UK expat and international owner-occupiers and landlords saw robust growth
2. Portfolio grew by 40% to £762m

Development of award-winning Woodland Saver product line

1. Total deposits grew by 28% to £897m
2. Growth driven by the launch of the award-winning Woodland Saver product, which pledges to plant a tree for every account opened or renewed, whilst offering market-leading rates
3. 10,000 trees planted in woodland projects across the UK

Further establishing Gatehouse Bank as a leader in the Build to Rent sector

1. First PRS fund sold to Goldman Sacs for £150m in the first sale of its kind
2. Third PRS fund launched in a £500m joint venture with Texas Pacific Group Real Estate to deliver 2,500 rental homes for families across the UK

Doubling of profits in 2021

1. Record levels of profitability achieved, with total pre-tax profit reaching £3.6m
2. Gross assets under management grew by 24% to £1.03bn (2020: £824.8m)
3. Income increased by 30% to £28.5m (2020: 22.7m)

Further information can be accessed in BTR News, here.

War service

Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, when Boodai was 17. He joined the Kuwait armed forces in exile, and underwent basic training. Drawing on his fluency in English and Arabic, he went on to work with the US military as a translator.^[12]

He was posted to military intelligence with the 18th Airborne Corps operating on the northern border of Saudi Arabia.^[12]

After Kuwait was liberated by US-led coalition forces, he was given an officer rank and helped the US Army’s host nation affairs unit foster relations with the Kuwaiti population.^[12]

Boodai was awarded the US Army Commendation Medal for meritorious service to the US Army during Operation Desert Storm and the liberation of Kuwait.^[12]

References

1. "Board of Directors". Gatehouse Capital. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
2. "Fahed Faisal Boodai". Bloomberg. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
3. "Board of Directors". The Securities House. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
4. [1] 2014-05-28 at the Wayback Machine Gatehouse Bank website
5. "Securities House". www.sh.com.kw. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
6. [2] Gatehouse Bank website
7. "Gatehouse Bank".
8. "Gatehouse Bank named UK's Best Ethical Savings Provider for third year in a row".
9. "Gatehouse Bank completes third U.S. Industrial Real Estate Portfolio".
10. "Brennan and Arch Purchase Eight Building Industrial Portfolio from National Foundry and Manufacturer of Automotive and Industrial Parts".
11. "Fahed Boodai: The building of a legacy". The Middle East Magazine. August 23, 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
12. "From Desert Storm to disruptive banker: the life-changing events behind Fahed Boodai's success". The National. Retrieved 14 June 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)