West Ham United plan winter training camp in Dubai without Dimitri Payet — reports

West Ham United are planning a winter training camp in Dubai, although midfielder Dimitri Payet will be excluded from the travelling party, according to media reports.

According to the Daily Mail, West Ham are organising a trip to the UAE, with manager Slaven Bilic keen to take his players away for some warm-weather training ahead of the season run-in.

West Ham will reportedly head to Dubai following their Premier League match with West Bromwich Albion on February 11, after which the London club do not have another fixture until February 25 when they face Watford.

However, according to the report, West Ham will travel without Payet as the France international continues his attempts to force a move back to former club Marseille.

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■ Diego Forlan: His thoughts on the Dimitri Payet saga

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Two weeks ago, Bilic revealed how Payet, 30, was refusing to play for West Ham, a stance that left the club's manager feeling "let down" and "angry". Despite Payet effectively going on strike, Bilic insisted West Ham would not be selling their "best player", who has been banished to the reserves.

West Ham’s senior players have reportedly informed Bilic that Payet would not be welcomed back into the set-up, fearing his reintegration could destabilise the team spirit built in the midfielder’s absence. Since Bilic’s announcement on January 12, West Ham have won both matches without Payet.

Marseille have already had three bids rejected by West Ham for Payet, and while the French club have said they are dropping their interest, it is thought a fourth offer will be made, although it is expected to still be below West Ham’s £30 million (Dh137.8m) asking price.

West Ham signed Payet from Marseille in July 2015 for £10m. It proved one of the best signings of the season, with Payet scoring nine goals and creating 12 assists in his debut Premier League season as West Ham finished seventh, just four points off fourth and a place in the Uefa Champions League.

Payet continued his fine form at the European Championship last summer, scoring three goals and creating two assists as France reached the Euro 2016 final.

* The National staff

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”