Najm Capital

Najm Fund I + Co-InvestGCC growth equity, infrastructure, and strategic buyouts · Q1 2026 reporting

K. Al Rashidi · Director

Najm/Pipeline/Pure Strategies

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Pure Strategies

Private

Clean Energy Consultancy / Roll-up·Control Buyout·$120M check·@ $0.8B

Matches thesisEnergy Transition & Infrastructure·Partner owner: Tariq Al Suwaidi

Inbound source

Co-investor intro

Dr. Karim El SolhCEO, Gulf Capital · Gulf Capital

[email protected]

Apr 20, 20261:00 PM

Subject: Pure Strategies — Control Buyout · Co-Sponsor Opportunity for Najm

Omar — Gulf Capital has been building Pure Strategies as a UAE and Saudi clean energy consultancy roll-up for the past 18 months. We have consolidated 40+ boutique firms and hold anchor contracts with NEOM and ADNOC's energy transition division. We are now looking for a co-sponsor for the control buyout to fund the next phase of consolidation and the Saudi build-out. $800M EV, $120M Najm equity ticket. I'd like to arrange a call with the management team.

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Executive summary

Pure Strategies is a UAE and Saudi Arabia clean energy and sustainability advisory roll-up, consolidating boutique energy consultancies under a single platform. Gulf Capital has assembled 40+ firms across energy transition strategy, carbon accounting, renewable energy project development, and ESG reporting. The platform holds anchor contracts with NEOM's energy team ($120M over 4 years) and ADNOC's energy transition division ($85M over 3 years). At $800M EV and $120M Najm equity, the entry at 8.4x FY2025 EBITDA is fair for a professional services roll-up with contracted GCC revenues. Key risk is the integration complexity of 40+ acquired firms and PE-typical execution risk on a control buyout.

Company snapshot

Business model: Professional services advisory platform (time-and-materials + fixed-fee project) specialising in energy transition, clean energy project finance, carbon accounting, and ESG regulatory advisory; roll-up consolidation creates cross-selling and back-office synergies.
Products: Energy Transition Strategy advisory · Carbon accounting and net-zero planning · Renewable energy project development (solar, green hydrogen) · ESG reporting and regulatory compliance · NEOM smart energy city planning
Geography + scale: UAE (Abu Dhabi, Dubai) — 55% of revenue · Saudi Arabia (Riyadh, NEOM) — 35% · Egypt + Qatar — 10%
People: James Whitfield (CEO, ex-McKinsey Energy) · Dr. Aisha Al Neyadi (CTO / Chief Sustainability Officer, ex-IRENA) · Hamad Al Rashid (MD Saudi Arabia, ex-ARAMCO Sustainability)

Market

TAM + growth: GCC energy transition advisory market $6B by 2030 · MENA clean energy project pipeline $220B · Saudi net-zero 2060 requires $700B in clean energy investment
Competitive set: Global: McKinsey, BCG, Wood Mackenzie, DNV. Regional: Energy & Environment (EEI), Mott MacDonald MENA. Pure Strategies' advantage is deep NEOM and ADNOC relationships and a dedicated GCC-only focus that global firms cannot match at the same cost structure.
Tailwinds: Saudi net-zero 2060 (requires $700B investment) · UAE net-zero 2050 · ADNOC 2030 decarbonisation programme · NEOM $500B smart energy city · COP28 UAE legacy climate commitments

Financial profile

Revenue: FY2025A revenue $95M (pro-forma including recent acquisitions) · backlog $210M over 3 years
Growth: 40% CAGR since roll-up inception in 2023 (acquisition-driven) · organic growth 18% on like-for-like basis · NEOM contract win expected to add $30M ARR from Q3 2026
Profitability: EBITDA $18M (19% margin) · net debt $140M from roll-up financing · FCF $9M (post-interest)
Unit economics: Revenue per consultant $320K/year · utilisation rate 78% · average project size $2.2M

Deal structure

Round size: Control buyout $320M equity total · $120M Najm (37.5% co-sponsor) · $200M Gulf Capital (62.5% lead)
Valuation: $800M EV · 8.4x FY2025 EBITDA · 4.1x post-synergy (management case)
Security: Control equity (no preference) — buyout structure
Co-investors: Gulf Capital (lead sponsor) · ADQ Energy Fund (limited co-invest)

Thesis fit · Energy Transition & Infrastructure

Policy mandate alignmentStrong

NEOM, ADNOC, and Saudi net-zero 2060 create structural demand for exactly the services Pure Strategies provides — government spending is the client base.

Scalable platformPartial

40+ acquisitions consolidated — integration quality is unvalidated at this stage. Roll-up platforms can scale or fracture depending on cultural and systems integration.

Financial profilePartial

$18M EBITDA on $95M revenue is solid for advisory but net debt $140M creates leverage risk. 19% margin is below global advisory peers at 25%+.

Downside protectionWeak

Control buyout with no preference — if NEOM or ADNOC contracts are not renewed, revenue concentration is high. No structural downside floor.

Risks + mitigants

Integration quality of 40+ acquisitions is unproven — culture and systems harmonisation is PE-execution riskMitigant: Gulf Capital has a dedicated portfolio operations team with prior professional services roll-up experience (Integrated Gulf Biosystems)

NEOM contract renewal risk — NEOM's phasing and funding have been subject to scope changesMitigant: Pure Strategies is embedded in NEOM's energy systems design team (not construction contractor) — advisory scopes are stickier than EPC

Key person risk — James Whitfield and Dr. Al Neyadi are personally identified with major client relationshipsMitigant: Buyout structure allows for long-term incentive retention packages; both founders have rolled equity into the deal

Similar deals in playbook

Integrated Gulf Biosystems (Gulf Capital roll-up)2022Watchlisted

Gulf Capital's prior professional services roll-up in healthcare services delivered 2.8x MOIC over 5 years — a credible precedent for the Pure Strategies model in a different sector.

ERM (Environmental Resources Management)2021Passed

Passed on ERM MENA carve-out — global ESG advisory multiples were too high at 14x EBITDA. Pure Strategies at 8.4x entry is more reasonable for the same advisory category.

Preliminary diligence items

1.Review all 40+ acquisition integration status — systems, HR, and client handover

2.NEOM and ADNOC contract review — confirm scope, term, exclusivity, and renewal options

3.Net debt structure review — acquisition financing terms and refinancing risk under buyout

4.Gulf Capital reference calls — IGB roll-up post-acquisition operational performance

5.Key person risk mitigation plan — retention packages and succession documentation

6.Revenue concentration analysis — top 5 clients as % of total revenue

Deal progressionStage 1 of 6

InboundCIM received · initial parseWith: Omar Al Zaabi

Quick LookMemo drafted · thesis match

Diligence scopingWorkstreams + owners defined

Diligence activeData room · expert calls · model

IC memoDrafted → IC review

DecisionPursue · pass · watch

Co-investor set

Gulf Capital (co-sponsor)

ADQ Energy Fund