Who is Henry Gabay, Derby County's potential new investor?

The London-based businessman is in advanced talks with the Rams about an investment partnership with current club owner Mel Morris

Derby County's quest to bring new investment into the club could soon be coming to a conclusion.

The Rams are understood to be in advanced talks over an investment partnership, and a deal could be completed by the end of this month.

The investor in question is Swiss/Turkish businessman Henry Gabay. So what more do we know about him?

Early days

Henry Isak Gabay was born in Turkey in September 1967 and educated in Switzerland.

He studied at the University of Geneva and graduated with a degree in finance and economics in 1991.

Career

In 1992, he joined Merril Lynch International, the wealth management division of the Bank of America.

He worked in the equity division of the company’s London and Geneva branches, and was responsible for setting up equity distribution for CEE and Russia for European Institutions.

In 1997, he took up a new job with Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) the multinational Swiss investment bank and financial holding company.

During his time here, he worked as head of equity sales for emerging markets, head of investment banking for Israel and Turkey, and as a director in London and New York.

Gabay left CSFB in 2000 in order to set up his own company.

In May 2002, he co-founded Duet Group - a "global alternative management company", which specialises in hedge funds, real estate and private equity.

He has developed the company into a global concern, with offices in London, New Delhi, New York, and Accra in Ghana.

The company has been particularly active in emerging and frontier markets.

Gabay is currently a board member of various Duet companies, including Dashen Brewery, Duet Consumer West Africa, and South Asian Real Estate Ltd.

In 2018, Duet Private Equity acquired the asset and wealth management firm Merit Capital.

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The acquisition, led by Gabay, added roughly 2,000 clients to Duet's portfolio and expanded the group’s European wealth management platform.

He has been chairman of Merit Capital’s board of directors since August 2018, when the acquisition was officially approved by the National Bank of Belgium.

Based in Antwerp, Merit Capital is valued at $1.3billion, according to the Investor's Globe website.

Gabay currently lives in London.

On the Duet website, his "skills" are listed as hedge funds, private equity, alternative investments, emerging markets and real estate. And a section called What I'm Looking For, adds: "Interesting opportunities".

Derby County

New companies Rams Investment Limited and Rams Sports Management Limited have been established and posted on Companies House in recent weeks.

Both companies are controlled by Gabay, who is the co-founder and chief executive officer of the Duet Group, a global investment holding company containing private equity, wealth management and other investment companies.

Swiss national Gabay himself is not listed as a director of Rams Investment Limited; but is the director of Rams Sports Management Limited.

Amit Haria, who serves as Duet’s chief financial officer, is named as director of Rams Investment Limited.

Both companies give their registered office as being in Hill Street, London, the same address as Duet’s offices.