Rita Ora apologises for breaking lockdown rules with birthday bash: 'It was an error of judgment'

British singer Rita Ora has apologised for breaking the UK's lockdown rules after holding her 30th birthday party in a London restaurant with friends in tow.

Writing on Instagram on Monday, November 30, the R.I.P. singer called the party, which took place on Saturday in Notting Hill, a serious and inexcusable error of judgment.

"It was a spur of the moment decision made with the misguided view that we were coming out of lockdown and this would be OK," Ora wrote on Instagram.

Rita Ora posted a statement to her Instagram Stories. Instagram / Rita Orda

"I feel particularly embarrassed knowing first-hand how hard people have worked to combat this terrible illness. Even though this won't make it right, I want to sincerely apologise."

London police confirmed that officers had been called to the restaurant over a breach of Covid-19 regulations.

Multiple reports suggest the party hosted up to 30 guests, though sources told the Daily Mail seven people were in attendance.

"Officers continue to assess the allegations and are liaising with the local authority regarding a potential breach of regulations at the premises. Enquiries continue," a Metropolitan police statement said.

The singer of hits that include Let You Love Me and How to Be Lonely has volunteered to pay a fine.

Police in England can issue fines of up to £10,000 ($13,352) for breaches of lockdown curbs.

England was placed under four weeks of restrictions to stop the spread of coronavirus in November. Restaurants and pubs were among businesses affected, and are supposed to open for takeaway and delivery orders only. People were also banned from meeting indoors with people from other households, with groups of no more than six people allowed to mix.

The lockdown is set to end on Wednesday, December 2, and be replaced by a tiered system allowing hospitality venues to reopen in certain areas and under social-distancing rules.

"It's important that everybody in society sets an example by following the rules – that is for every member of the public, including celebrities," the prime minister's official spokesman said. "But it's up to police to decide what action to take."

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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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