What it takes to register a company in Riyadh, from MISA sign-up to the programme built for government contracts.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE both want UK founders - here's how they stack up on tax, ownership, and setup speed.

You can own and run a UAE company while living in the UK. Owning it is simple. Running it from the UK is the risk. If the company’s real decisions are made in Britain, HMRC can treat it as UK tax resident and tax its worldwide profits, on top of UAE corporate tax. The way out is genuine UAE substance and local management, or a clean personal move to the UAE.

Saudi Arabia is the largest economy in the GCC and the one most UK companies underestimate. Vision 2030 has opened sectors that were closed a decade ago, and foreign ownership rules have moved substantially in the investor’s favour.

Setting up a UAE company from Britain is more procedural than most founders expect. There is a defined sequence, and each step depends on the one before it.

Almost every UK founder looking at the UAE hits the same fork in the road. Free zone or mainland.

Consulting is one of the cleanest businesses to set up in Dubai. You are selling expertise, so there is no stock to import, no shop to fit out, and no factory to license. For a UK consultant looking at the UAE, that means a fast, low-overhead launch.

The UAE is one of the strongest ecommerce markets in the region, with a young, connected, high-spending population and logistics infrastructure built for fast delivery. For a UK founder, it gives access to the Gulf, the wider Middle East, and onward markets from a single base.