Joining the Remarkable Group will allow Tanasuk Technologies to expand its presence beyond the Middle East and the US, Tanasuk chief executive Shahla Matar said.
Joining the Remarkable Group will allow Tanasuk Technologies to expand its presence beyond the Middle East and the US, Tanasuk chief executive Shahla Matar said.
Joining the Remarkable Group will allow Tanasuk Technologies to expand its presence beyond the Middle East and the US, Tanasuk chief executive Shahla Matar said.
Joining the Remarkable Group will allow Tanasuk Technologies to expand its presence beyond the Middle East and the US, Tanasuk chief executive Shahla Matar said.

UK's Remarkable Group grows Middle East footprint with acquisition of Jordan's Tanasuk


Deena Kamel
  • English
  • Arabic

Remarkable Group, a London-based digital transformation company, said it acquired Jordan's Tanasuk Technologies.

Tanasuk is a Middle East partner of US-based content management systems specialist Sitecore, which works with brands such as L'Oreal, Puma and The Open golf championship. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

The two agencies will work collaboratively on client projects across the Middle East, US and Europe, they said in a statement on Wednesday. Each will also continue to serve its respective markets as a separate entity with its own specific offerings.

"Tanasuk is the number one Sitecore specialist in the region and that brings an enormous amount of credibility, experience and knowledge to the group," Nick Towers, chief executive of Remarkable Group, said. "Its growth and success to date has been driven by an incredible powerhouse of female leaders who are really exceptional operators, impressing us with their business acumen at every step of our negotiation."

Tanasuk will benefit from the diversity of senior architects, expertise and resources at the Remarkable Group, so that it can deliver entire projects and go beyond pure engineering with a more multi-disciplined digital team, it said.

"Joining a group like Remarkable has been a long time coming for Tanasuk. The group’s strategic interest in EMEA and the recent rise of various regional economies has only made this move even more timely," Shahla Matar, chief executive of Tanasuk, said. "We look forward to expanding beyond the US and Middle East markets by tapping into the group’s wealth of global resources."

The acquisition of Tanasuk brings Remarkable Group's headcount to 85 employees based across six locations, covering Amman, the UK (London, Leeds and Ashford), Ukraine and the US (Chicago), according to the statement.

Earlier this year, Remarkable Group acquired UK-based digital agency Sagittarius, a Sitecore partner and specialist in digital customer experience, as part of a plan to build a group of global digital consultancies that help businesses compete in their digital transformation.

Remarkable Group is planning on further acquisitions in 2021 in the technology and data sectors, it said.

The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated companies' efforts towards digital transformation to better compete with rivals, take a bigger share of the market, navigate change and prepare for future challenges. Spending on IT projects is expected to grow by 4.5 per cent this year to $171 billion as companies spend more on digitalising services, according to research company Gartner. Spending on enterprise software will grow 14.5 per cent, driven by an increase in the number of people working remotely.

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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Who's who in Yemen conflict

Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government

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Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory

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Results

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Oman beat Bahrain by nine wickets

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Monday fixtures

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The flights

Air Astana flies direct from Dubai to Almaty from Dh2,440 per person return, and to Astana (via Almaty) from Dh2,930 return, both including taxes. 

The hotels

Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes. 

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Updated: July 01, 2021, 8:33 AM