The looming spectre of Brexit will not change the UK’s place as a global financial hub and a safe bet for investors in the long-term, according to Abdulla Al Gurg, the CEO of the Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group (ESAG).
ESAG have invested in heavily in the UK’s commercial real estate market over the last several years, and most notably acquired the IBM building in London’s South Bank for £120 million ($146m) in 2014.
“We’re not short-term investors. We’re long-term investors. We buy and hold, and we still see the UK as being one of the safest markets,” he said. “It [will remain] one of the safest markets to invest in, regardless of their current political situation.”
Al Gurg said that ESAG is unconcerned with possible fluctuations of the British pound in the time leading up to, and immediately following, the country’s exit from the European Union.
“The pound will drop and go back up, but in five years, this will all be history,” he said. “You will see a lot of fluctuations, but in the long-term, on average, it doesn’t affect this or that.
“The UK has been a financial institution, for hundreds of years before the Euro,” he added. “I don’t think it will collapse because they’ve dismantled that. The economy has way more depth than that.”
Last week, the pound fell against the dollar and euro after Britain’s government moved to extend the suspension of parliament, making a no-deal Brexit more likely.
Many analysts noted that the drop show how sensitive the current is to concerns over Brexit.
“The pace of sterling’s drop demonstrates yet again the currency’s susceptibility to Brexit fears,” Han Tan, market analyst at FXTM trading group was quoted as saying by AFP.
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