A Middle East-based family has bought a substantial stake in a UK wealth management and brokerage business.

WH Ireland, which has recently taken the radical step of outsourcing back-office operations and made several senior hires, has confirmed a Kuwaiti family-based business has bought 23.1 per cent of the London-listed business.

Kuwaiti European Holding Group (KEH) is a holding company for a group of businesses focused on the financial services, leisure and healthcare sectors and was set up in 2008, headquartered in the UK and owned by the Al-Humaidi family of Kuwait.

The actual financial size of the acquisition wasn't disclosed in a statement from WH Ireland on Tuesday.

A KEH representative will be appointed to its board in due course but no other changes, such as to management, will happen as a result of the acquisition.

The UK-based firm recently announced it was outsourcing a number of major operations to SEI Investment, as part of a number of moves to expand operations such as wealth management. It has slimmed down the number of offices to seven, and made a number of hires. It says it is looking to move onto the front foot as a business after passing through a difficult period that involved a brush with the UK regulator. (For more on these developments, see this interview here.)

WH Ireland said the Kuwaiti deal was a positive move because KEH is a "financially strong, long-term investor and highly supportive of WH Ireland’s existing management and strategy".

"Through KEH, WH Ireland will have access to growth capital as well as investment opportunities in Kuwait and the wider Middle East region. KEH and the management of WH Ireland believe that there is a significant opportunity for WH Ireland to service corporate, institutional and High Net Worth clients in the Middle East," it said.