Aston Villa Owner 'Nassef Sawiris' thinking of leaving UK' after budget.
The billionaire owner of Aston Villa FC is contemplating a move away from the UK following recent tax reforms, according to sources cited by Bloomberg.
Nassef Sawiris is exploring options in the US and various European nations as potential new homes, the report indicates. At 63 years old, he boasts a net worth of approximately $8.8 billion and owns properties across the globe. In July, his London-based investment firm, NNS Group, established a presence in Abu Dhabi. Documents reveal that Mr. Sawiris stepped down as director of the office in November. The wealthiest individuals in the UK are facing significant changes to their tax obligations due to the government's budget adjustments.
These changes include increased taxes on inherited wealth, a rise in capital gains tax, and the elimination of tax breaks for affluent individuals earning foreign income. Chancellor Rachel Reeves stated that the £40 billion tax-increasing budget was essential to address a significant gap in the nation's finances.
Who is Nassef Sawiris?
Egypt's wealthiest individual holds a 39% share in OCI, a fertilizer company based in Geleen, Netherlands, which emerged from a split from his family's original enterprise, Orascom Construction. In 2021, OCI reported revenues of $6.3 billion. Additionally, he possesses a 7% interest in Adidas and a stake in Arkema SA, a French manufacturer of specialty materials.
Nassef Sawiris Net Worth
According to OCI's 2021 annual report, Sawiris's most significant asset is his 39% ownership in the publicly traded fertilizer company. He holds these shares both directly and through Capricorn Capital BV, a holding company located in the Netherlands. The company was originally founded by his father, Onsi Sawiris, in 1950 as Orascom Construction.
His older brother, Samih, is also a shareholder in OCI. Sawiris has a stake in Adidas, the renowned sportswear and equipment brand, owning 7% of the company's voting rights through Elian Corporate Trustee, based in the Cayman Islands, as noted in a September 20, 2022 announcement. His portfolio further includes a 5% stake in Arkema, a specialty materials producer located in Colombes, France, and a 6% interest in MSG Sports, the holding company that oversees the New York Knicks basketball team and the New York Rangers hockey team. His cash assets are estimated based on an evaluation of dividends, taxes, market performance, and insider transactions, including a notable $3.8 billion investment he made in January 2008 to acquire shares in Lafarge.
Villa Park - Birmingham, UK. Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens acquired a 55% controlling stake in Aston Villa Football Club in July 2018. The investment was estimated at £30 million ($39 million USD) to rescue the club from financial difficulties following its failure to secure promotion to the Premier League that year.
Biography
Nassef Onsi Sawiris was born on January 19, 1961, in Cairo, Egypt, as the youngest of three sons to Yousiriyya and Onsi Sawiris. His father, who was the son of a lawyer, established a construction firm in 1950.
By the time Nassef turned eight, the company had grown to be one of the largest contractors in Egypt, specializing in the construction of roads and waterways in the upper Nile region. In 1961, President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the business, renaming it El Nasr Civil Works Company.
Discontent with being an employee in his own firm, Onsi relocated to Libya, where he launched a new general contracting business. Following the Camp David accords, tensions between Libya and Egypt escalated, prompting Sawiris to return to Egypt and leave the family business for a second time. Onsi then established Orascom Construction Industries. By the mid-1990s, through collaborations with international firms on local projects, Orascom had become one of Egypt's leading private construction companies.
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Nassef, who completed his high school education at the German International School of Cairo, pursued higher education in the United States, graduating with a degree in economics from the University of Chicago in 1982. He rejoined his father and two older brothers at OCI, which had by then expanded into communications and real estate. By the end of the 1990s, the company had divided into three distinct entities: Orascom Telecom, led by the eldest brother Naguib; Orascom Hotels and Development, managed by the middle brother Samih; and Orascom Construction, now under Nassef's leadership. As CEO, he concentrated on international expansion and ventured into a new sector—cement and building materials—selling this division to Lafarge in 2008 for $12.8 billion.
In the same year, he ventured into the fertilizer industry by acquiring the Egyptian Fertilizer Company. Through both the growth of its own operations and strategic acquisitions, Orascom's fertilizer division became the third-largest producer of nitrogen-based fertilizers in the world. In January 2013, a group of investors led by Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, invested $1 billion in Orascom Construction Industries. This investment aimed to assist the Sawiris family in moving the company's listing from the Cairo Stock Exchange to NYSE Euronext Amsterdam.
At the time, Sawiris mentioned that this transition was designed to promote future consolidation in the sector, reduce risks associated with Egypt, and lower borrowing costs. The company, which was rebranded as OCI, began trading in Amsterdam on January 25, 2013. Two years later, OCI separated its construction business into a distinct entity, which was dual-listed on the Dubai and Cairo stock exchanges. A Coptic Christian, Sawiris is married and has four children.
