Lumina event at Waldorf Astoria, DIFC, launching Lumina’s 2026 Cross-Border Insights report
Thank you to all of Lumina Capital Advisers’ clients, partners and friends who joined us for the launch of our 2026 Cross-Border Insights report.
A particular thank you to our panellists, Parag Gandesha of BlackRock and Ben Jones of Kent, for sharing on-the-ground perspectives on the growing role of private equity and private credit in the region, and how M&A continues to act as a catalyst for developing innovation in the region and exporting best practice globally.
Key takeaways from the event:
Region based, global champions thrive: Regionally located firms with sustained, cycle-spanning investments across technology, infrastructure, industrial and AI sectors create and sell innovation. Kent shared examples of how their technologies developed and implemented here are exported to clients across their global markets
Sovereign realignment drives private sector opportunities: Private capital will fill the gaps created by sovereign investment realignment from nation-builders to long term, resilient-facilitators, especially in KSA. Where sovereigns previously launched and led, private sector will increasingly execute and fund
Region is a true anchor point: Presence in UAE / KSA today acts as a base for the broader MENA region, enabling investments across India, Africa and other high growth economies
Traditional funding gaps still exist: But private credit and private equity are beginning to normalise this. BlackRock’s regional expansion, with over 100+ employees now in 5 regional offices signifies i) desire to invest regionally across capital spectrum and opportunities as well as (ii) providing LPs diversification access to global opportunities
Data centres identified as the #1 sector for growth in 2026: The region is still ‘years behind the US’ and there is ‘huge potential for growth here and its associated sectors’
M&A momentum will continue: Driven by greater funding for PE and PC deals, broader growth capital opportunities in mid-market deals and as global firms ‘follow their clients’ and seek regional access through strategic acquisitions
