Pantheon has opened its first Abu Dhabi office at Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), extending its Middle East presence as it seeks capital from investors across the Gulf. The London-headquartered private markets firm manages about $84 billion in assets under management. Its new office brings its global footprint to 13 locations across four continents.
Pantheon appointed Firas Mallah, formerly of investment firm Sagard, as managing director and head of the Middle East. He’ll lead the firm’s capital formation efforts with sovereign wealth funds, family offices and financial institutions across the region, the company said.
Regional investors increasingly seek exposure to private equity, infrastructure and private credit. Mallah said investors in the region were becoming more sophisticated about how they wanted exposure to private markets.
“The Middle East is one of the fastest-growing sources of capital in private markets, and investors here are increasingly sophisticated about how they want exposure to the asset class,” Mallah said. “Establishing our presence in ADGM reflects our strong commitment to the region as we deepen our long-term engagement across the wider GCC.”
Capital formation in the Gulf
Pantheon said a dedicated Abu Dhabi office would help it deepen relationships with a diverse range of investors across Gulf countries and strengthen its regional presence. Mallah’s role will include engaging with sovereign wealth funds, family offices and financial institutions.
The firm said its secondaries strategies may interest investors seeking access to mature portfolios while reducing some risks tied to investing in newly established funds. Pantheon pioneered private equity secondaries in 1988 and has since expanded into private credit and infrastructure secondaries.
Secondaries let investors acquire existing stakes in private market funds or assets. The approach can potentially provide earlier distributions and reduce the so-called J-curve associated with traditional private market investments.
ADGM attracts asset managers
ADGM has been developing its asset management and private markets ecosystem. By number of active licences, it’s the largest international financial centre in the Middle East and Africa region, the report said. The financial centre continued to attract global institutions despite the seven-month Iran war.
After the conflict broke out on February 28, Tehran launched waves of missile and drone attacks that initially hit the UAE and other Gulf and wider Middle Eastern countries. The war hasn’t deterred international financial firms from establishing operational bases in Abu Dhabi, the report said. From there, global investors and money managers can expand regional operations and work with sovereign wealth funds, family offices and institutional partners.
Private credit lender Blue Owl Capital, US private equity company Vista Equity Partners, Man Group, Barings, Bain Capital, Cantor and Swiss derivative investment company Adapt Investment Managers have established a presence in the UAE capital. The report describes Man Group as the world’s largest listed hedge fund.
Europe’s largest private markets investment firm, EQT, most recently established a base in ADGM before Pantheon. EQT manages $389 billion in client assets and said it would use Abu Dhabi as the base for a new Middle East platform while seeking investment opportunities across the Gulf.
Asset managers that established operations in ADGM in the first half of 2026 collectively oversee more than $2.1 trillion in global assets under management, the financial centre said earlier this month. ADGM assets under management grew 54 per cent annually in the first six months of 2026. The report said 49,027 professionals worked at Al Maryah Island and Al Reem Island, 34 per cent more than in the same period last year.
Arvind Ramamurthy, chief market development officer at ADGM, said Pantheon’s decision to establish its Middle East presence in Abu Dhabi reflected the financial centre’s appeal to global private market firms seeking to engage with institutional investors in the region.