British Investors Eye Dubai Amid Strengthened Pound

In a bid to bring British investors to the United Arab Emirates, Emirati real estate developers are setting up shop with new offices in London.

The pull: a weaker dirham, tied to the U.S. dollar that has lost its strength following President Donald Trump’s tariffs, Reuters reported. As a result, buying Dubai property in British pounds has become notably cheaper for interested buyers.

Over the past year, Emirati developers Binghatti and Danube have set up sales offices in London, joining the likes of Aldar, Damac and Sobha. The real estate shops are purportedly hoping to attract investors to a market facing possible oversupply and too few buyers.

“The currency makes a big difference,” Danube chairman Rizwan Sajan told Reuters of the weakened dirham and stronger pound. Binghatti CEO Muhammad Binghatti added that he’s seen more British investors get into the Dubai market as the dirham weakened.

The dirham has lost about 8 percent against the pound since the start of the year, largely thanks to Trump’s tariffs. To British buyers, this means they can break into the UAE’s property market at an instant discount.

Some wealthy Londoners have reportedly fled the U.K. capital due to higher taxes, according to the report. Besides Dubai, some London exiles have decamped for places like Monaco, Italy and Switzerland. That’s prompted developers like Binghatti to lure British buyers with flexible payment plans and special pricing for U.K. investors; Damac has joined forces with Chelsea soccer club to create branded residences in Dubai.

British investment in Dubai homes increased 62 percent year over year in the second quarter of this year, according to data from UAE brokerage Betterhomes cited by Reuters. U.K. residents now make up the top foreign property buyers in the city for the first time since 2023, overtaking Indian buyers.

Real estate interest is beginning to flow back from the UAE to the U.K. Damac, Aldar and Modon have launched development branches to build property in the U.K. through subsidiaries or joint ventures. London Square, a U.K.-based subsidiary of Aldar, for example, has acquired 15 new land sites and launched six developments since 2023. Danube and Binghatti are considering similar moves into U.K. property development, despite the weaker dirham presenting a financial hurdle.

— Chris Malone Méndez