Belfast Company In Saudi Link-up

A Belfast-based international consultancy firm has formed a partnership with a Saudi Arabian law firm.

Quigg Golden, which specialises in dispute resolution within the construction industry, has linked up with Jeddah company Majed Garoub and will now offer its contract resolution and arbitration services to the construction industry in the Gulf kingdom.

The move follows an Invest Northern Ireland trade mission to Saudi.

Company Director, Edward Quigg, who will now spend time in Jeddah to develop business throughout Saudi Arabia, commented: "The agreement with Majed Garoub gives us a solid platform in Jeddah, one of Saudi Arabia’s most dynamic construction markets. Huge investment in infrastructure, including a £4 billion expansion at Jeddah’s King Abdullaziz International Airport, is currently underway.

"During a series of visits with Invest NI to Saudi and other Gulf markets we identified a substantial business opportunity for our expertise in resolving problems over contracts in key industries such as construction and engineering. Our services cover arbitration, adjudication, conciliation and mediation."

He continued: "The infrastructure projects are on such a huge scale involving many international contractors, that contractual issues are inevitable."

Dr Vicky Kell, Invest NI Trade Director, added: "Quigg Golden is the most recent company to benefit from our strategic focus on developing relationships within the vibrant construction industry in Saudi Arabia. We now have a network of highly placed contacts within many of the kingdom’s biggest construction businesses including the influential Saudi Bin Laden Group.

"As well as helping Northern Ireland contractors and civil engineering businesses to explore opportunities in Saudi, the biggest marketplace in the Middle East, we’ve been keen to encourage and assist professional practices in areas such as contract resolution, architecture, quantity surveying and urban planning, to look closely at this huge marketplace. Northern Ireland has significant expertise in professional services with real export potential."

(NS/KMcA)