Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain - March 13, 2012, Gulf Holding Company (GHC) is pleased to announce today, the appointment of Mr. Matthew Austin as the General Manager of the Company and its subsidiaries.

GHC is a sharia'a compliant development company that offers cutting-edge real estate investment products and services. The core of its business is the "Signature Series"   which includes major landmark projects such as: VillaMar @ the Harbour and Al Areen Downtown in the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Villa Royal in Morocco.

On this occasion Mr. Hisham Al Rayes, Chairman of GHC commented by saying: "Mr. Austin, a Chartered Civil Engineer brings to GHC over 20 years of experience in the property and construction industry. Mathew has been involved in a number of major development and construction projects both in the UK and Bahrain, his appointment will further strengthen the company's ability to achieve its strategic objectives through providing the breadth of experience necessary". 

As part of his role, Mr. Austin will start immediately the process of be reviewing and restructuring the operations of the company and its projects with the aim of resuming work on the projects (particularly VillaMar @ the Harbour) at the earliest possible.

It is worth noting that VillaMar @ the Harbour had recently announced their intention to resume work after delays that took place due to the financial crises.  The project was restructured to extend short term liabilities and bring new funding partners on board. Additionally, a memorandum of understanding was signed with the project's main contractor "Al Hamad" as a partner committing to complete the construction of the project against part ownership in the towers.

Commenting on his appointment, Mr. Austin said: "I am extremely pleased to be appointed as General Manager and I'm looking forward to the challenge of leading Gulf Holding Company through these difficult economic times. While there are some big challenges ahead, I look forward to seeing work resume on key projects such as Villamar@theHarbour as we will be providing an update on this project in the very near future".

© Press Release 2012