British firms flock to set up UAE offices despite Covid impact
The number of British companies choosing to set up in the UAE has risen exponentially in the last few months, according to experts.
UK companies are being attracted by the emirate’s newly relaxed residency laws and the promise of new post-Brexit trade avenues, said Nazar Musa, CEO of business set-up company Pro Partner Group, which assists businesses with setting up firms in the UAE and the Gulf.
“When it comes to UK businesses setting up in the UAE, we saw like-for-like annual growth of 60 percent in Q1 2021,” said Musa, adding that the companies span a broad range of sectors such as marine, media, oil, and education.
“Despite the borders being closed, there has been consistent growth in the number of businesses setting up in the UAE,” he said. "There is a great deal of interest from Europe in general and the UK.”
The UAE has announced a string of relaxed laws amid the pandemic, such as the remote working visa, retirement visa, citizenship for gifted ex-pats, 100 percent company ownership, and liberated laws around cohabitation and divorce – all with the aim of luring talented Brits and other nationalities to its shores.
An estimated 6,000 UK companies are already registered in the UAE, according to the UK Department for International Trade (DIT).
“With the UK–UAE Business Council forging key business-to-business links and ministerial interest in the Emirates, UK companies are continuing to do business and there is increased appetite for even more,” she added.
The UAE is the UK’s fourth largest export market outside the EU and is Britain’s key trading partner in the region, making up 40 percent of GCC-UK trade.
Data from the UAE Ministry of Economy shows that the non-oil foreign trade between the UAE and UK was valued at AED36.6 billion ($10 billion) in 2019.
Massimo Falcioni, CEO of government trade finance body Etihad Credit Insurance, told Arabian Business in April that he expects UK-UAE trade volumes to “triple” by 2023.
“We are keen to attract more businesses to the UAE as they look to expand outside of traditional markets like the European Union,” said Sarah Taylor, director of the UK DIT in the UAE.
Driven by the twin economic woes of the Covid pandemic and Brexit, the DIT has launched a campaign in the UK to encourage British companies to export, focusing on seven priority sectors: agri-food and drink, financial and professional services, creative industries, education, tech, consumer goods and clean growth.
“The DIT team is working with colleagues in the UK to enable companies to look at the UAE as a new export destination,” said Taylor.
“As Britain has left the EU, it still needs to develop its export market... the UAE is a key player because of its historically strong links to the UK,” Falcioni said, adding that he expected to see trade flourish in services, IT, FinTech, automotive, insurance and asset management sectors.
Abu Dhabi-owned Mubadala Investment Company also announced in April it would invest £800 million ($1.1 billion) into British life sciences over five years.
The UK government has also confirmed “billions of dollars” of new trade deals will be announced in clean energy and tech by the end of this year.
John St Valery, chairman of the non-profit trade body British Business Group in Dubai (BBG), said there has been a “seismic shift" in interest and activity from the UK in the last few months.
“As predicted, Brexit has encouraged many companies to look further afield. The UAE – home to over 100,000 UK nationals and a much wider international expat audience – is an inviting region to consider for export,” he said.
“The recent Mubadala investment in the industries of tomorrow, such as science, tech and green growth, presents a significant post-covid economic opportunity for the UK and UAE.”