An image of Linda La Selmie's BMW released by police in January 2015. The vehicle plunged from the sixth floor of an Abu Dhabi multi-storey car park. Courtesy: Security Media
An image of Linda La Selmie's BMW released by police in January 2015. The vehicle plunged from the sixth floor of an Abu Dhabi multi-storey car park. Courtesy: Security Media

British coroner rules accidental death in case of expat whose BMW plunged six floors from Abu Dhabi car park



A woman plunged six-storeys to her death after accidentally reversing her car off the roof of an Abu Dhabi multi-storey car park, a British coroner has ruled.

Linda Al Selmie appeared to have been reversing while parking her BMW when the incident happened.

The 51-year-old died from multiple injuries after the car landed near the entrance of the Sheikh Khalifa Energy Complex

An inquest at Crook Coroners Court was told Abu Dhabi Police received a call at 8am on January 25, 2015 reporting that a vehicle had fallen from the sixth floor while in reverse mode.

The UK's Northern Echo newspaper on Wednesday reported details of the case as they were heard by a coroner, who is tasked with issuing an official cause of death.

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The hearing centred around the height of the metal barriers that her vehicle rolled through, although tests revealed they were built to withstand the appropriate pressures.

Mrs Al Selmie’s family disputed some of the facts in the case, including relating to the barriers, but said they accepted it was unlikely that any more information would come to light to explain exactly what had happened.

Officials at BMW said tests had shown there were no mechanical faults.

It was not stated where Mrs Al Selmie worked, but the court was told she grew up in Darlington in the north-east of England and later lived in Manchester before moving to Abu Dhabi with husband Wajhi Al Selmie, an Iraqi-born engineer.

Crispin Oliver, senior assistant coroner of County Durham and Darlington, told the family it had been difficult to get all the evidence he had hoped for to reach his conclusion.

He praised their hard work and determination.

Speaking after the hearing, Mrs Al Selmie’s sister, Marjorie Carney, said "we will never know what caused the car to go through the barrier,".

"She had a wonderful life," she added.

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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.”

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