Some investments have the potential to return ridiculously high multiples; of course, some will never achieve their potential. Reward, though, does not come without some pain.
Omran Al Mosawi is reflective at his mahogany desk in his wood-panelled office on the first floor of his 11-storey residential and commercial building in Adliya, modestly- named ‘Burj Omran’. A self-made entrepreneur and father of five, he celebrated his 56th birthday last month; his dynamic energy, assertiveness and alert consciousness is clear to all who meet him.
 Last month, together with his partners, he finalised one the biggest deals of his illustrious career; namely the collaboration between one of the companies he has invested in and helped fund, Enigma Diagnostics, and GlaskoSmithKline (GSK). This was the successful culmination of years of negotiation and over GBP 65 million of investment to supply Europe and major emerging markets with the Enigma machine.
Initially, this technology was funded by the UK Government, and then through Omran’s associate company, Porton Capital, together with a number of grants from the UK Government and EU Commission. Enigma’s unique ability is to undertake a DNA (r-t PCR) test from a raw sample and to deliver a result in less than 60 minutes, be it blood, urine or, uniquely, a swab.
These tests allows for cancer screening, MRSA, TB and other clinical tests, including influenza. According to Omran, the market potential value of this company, with the GSK partnership, runs into billions of dollars.
Humble beginnings
Omran’s beginnings could be described as relatively modest yet comfortable as he was born into an academic, art-loving family. His father’s father was a religious scholar and judge who founded the Jaafari Waqf (charity lands organisation) at the Bahraini Ministry of Justice some 80 years ago. Omran’s own father, who was his father’s only son and who lost his mother before his teens, was a deeply religious man who used to make a living reciting ‘Hussaini tales’, although his main passion was for writing history books and poetry. A total of 167 titles were published during his lifetime; he was the first Shia scholar to be given an overseas scholarship to study outside Bahrain (in India) by the then British protectorate.
Omran is not a coy individual by any means and explains that his motivation for success in business was mainly fuelled by his desire to provide for his extended and immediate family. Growing up as one of 34 children meant that they did not receive either the attention or resources of many of their friends.
Having said that, many of his siblings have taken up prominent careers in specialised fields such as medicine, finance, art and design. The weekly get-togethers held at one of his houses for family and close friends are always eclectic and informal, and comprise of a uniquely diverse cross-section of Bahrain society.
In 1975, he started work as a cashier at the Gulf Hotel and then the Sheraton Hotel, before taking a business course and heading to Paris to study drama and film production at a prestigious film institute. It’s no coincidence, therefore, that today he now runs Omran Media, a film production company devoted to the creation of Ramadan TV series that are shown throughout the region.
Finding a niche
After graduation, he was employed by a number of international and regional financial institutions before he met, and teamed up with a well-known investor, Harvey Boulter. Since 2004, Omran and his associates have specialised in investing in patents developed at the UK Ministry of Defense (MoD), through Defense Science Technology Laboratories (DSTL), for military purposes. These patents are then commercialised in conjunction with private sector businesses for non-military applications under exclusive licenses, in which the MoD retains a significant stake.
Omran plainly admits that the business environment that he operates in is not for the faint-hearted investor. “In order to achieve high multiples on any investment,” he says, “you must be willing to take risks which may result, on occasion, with the total loss of your investment capital.”
Of course, nothing in life is guaranteed, and almost 25 per cent of the technologies they invested in have not been successful but, according to Omran, the remaining investments more than make up for this shortfall.
“We never invest in start-ups,” he says candidly. “We tend to invest in established companies with product lines which require funding and tweaking in order to maximise their the potential value. Even the best technologies will not see the light of day unless they receive adequate funding in a timely manner.”
Omran’s fellow investors are high-net worth individuals; he sees himself as a partner more than a financial advisor, as he always invests his own money into the same companies that he presents to his clients.
“I quit working in the equity markets in 2001,” he states. “With no end in sight to financial upheavals, I prefer to focus on viable high-tech industrial or medical investments, where real demand exists regardless of consumer spending power and confidence.”
|
