Al Ghurair Investment holding company seeks acquiring more food-related businesses in the broader Middle East and North Africa region to expand its portfolio, the group’s chief executive has said.

The group is looking at several purchasing opportunities but is yet to make an decision, John Iossifidis told The National.

“We are always open to looking at opportunities for investment,” he said. “There is always something on the go … something under review but there’s nothing cooking at the moment in terms of a deal.”

Although the group’s interests include engineering to mobility and energy sectors through more than 20 operating companies in a diverse portfolio, food and grains crushing businesses are “predominantly the areas of focus in terms of inorganic growth,” according to Iossifidis.

“We are looking to grow, particularly in the GCC and Mena region if and when opportunities arise.

“The group is financially sound and we haven’t struggled in terms of finding the capital for opportunities that we have actually identified.”

AGI, along with its consortium partners Al Rajhi Holdings Group and the UAE-based Masafi, completed the acquisition of a flour mill in Saudi Arabia earlier this year.

The agreement to fully acquire the Third Milling Company from Saudi Grains Organization was worth about $200 million, according to reports. In June, AGI also bought Jebel Ali Edible Oil Company, a multi-seed crushing plant, from Dubai Investments Industries for an undisclosed amount.

AGI subsidiary Al Ghurair Foods has an annual capacity of over 1.5 million metric tonnes and operates silos with storage of 230,000 metric tonnes for its wheat milling operations alone. Its associated businesses also own and operates oats mill, rice mill, animal feed plant and one of the UAE’s biggest poultry farms.