UK private equity firm expands to Dubai to invest in professional services companies

Hamilton Bradshaw is backed by James Caan of BBC Dragons' Den fame and seeks to prepare Mena business owners for exits

James Caan, former panellist on BBC UK Dragons' Den and investor, says few other private equity firms tend to invest in professional services. Pawan Singh for The National

The influx of skilled talent to the UAE, strong economic growth and a thriving start-up ecosystem has drawn UK-based private equity firm Hamilton Bradshaw to the Emirates.

Founded by James Caan, a former panellist on BBC UK Dragons' Den, entrepreneur and investor, the private equity and business transformation firm will focus on investing in companies in the professional services industry.

“We've backed over 50 businesses in a range of sectors. We tend to specialise in professional services because very few other investment houses do so, considering it to be high risk,” Mr Caan told The National.

“Our target is individuals who want to set up a business in accounting, payrolls, FinTech, digital media and marketing, mediation or real estate, with innovation, efficiency and creativity. We invest in people, not products or technology.”

UAE start-ups led the Middle East and North Africa region in the volume of funding rounds with a total of 188 funding rounds in 2024, according to a report by data platform Magnitt. This accounted for 40 per cent of all funding rounds in the region and marked a 9 per cent year-on-year increase.

Despite the increase in the number of funding rounds, funding fell 8 per cent annually to $613 million last year, in line with a wider regional trend, which saw funding fall 29 per cent year-on-year to $1.5 billion.

Saudi Arabia ranked first ($750 million) and Egypt ($329 million) ranked third in terms of value of funding, according to Magnitt. “Despite the dip in funding, the number of active investors in Mena rose by 20 per cent, signalling optimism for what lies ahead in 2025,” the report said.

We want to democratise the concept of business to create value and wealth for the entrepreneur

James Caan,
founder, Hamilton Bradshaw

London-headquartered Hamilton Bradshaw has invested in 37 businesses so far and successfully exited 17.

Since Dubai is an evolving market, investors must recognise that the exit strategy for private equity is not established here unlike the West, Mr Caan said.

“Exiting businesses in this region will be quite challenging and understanding that is a learning curve for both the entrepreneur and investors,” he said.

“In the Middle East, business is personal. People build businesses for their family and children whereas in the West, entrepreneurs build ventures to create an exit event where they build personal wealth. We want to democratise the concept of business to create value and wealth for the entrepreneur. Otherwise, their wealth is tied up in the business for generations.”

For more than two decades, Hamilton Bradshaw has invested in and scaled companies across recruitment, real estate and professional services.

Mr Caan believes money alone is not enough to scale a business. Most entrepreneurs also require expertise in management, coaching, marketing, talent attraction, commercial management, finances, corporate governance and legal support.

Hamilton Bradshaw will seek to surround entrepreneurs with the core expertise of talented domain experts, which gives them a real chance of building and scaling the business, he said.

There has been an outflow of talent from Europe to the Middle East, Mr Caan said. “We follow talent. If this is where talent is moving, this is where we want to be to capture individuals looking to start a business.

“Secondly, as an investor, you want to invest in a region where there is economic growth and demand. Right now, Dubai is seeing an unprecedented level of demand for professional, legal, financial services and real estate. If you're entering a market where you're building businesses that have demand, the chances are you will make attractive returns as an investor.”

Ayman Alashkar, chief executive of Hamilton Bradshaw Mena, says the region is now starting to create businesses that are being exported globally. Pawan Singh for The National

Ayman Alashkar, chief executive of Hamilton Bradshaw Mena, highlighted how the region is now starting to create businesses that are being exported globally, citing the example of Fix Dessert Chocolatier.

“We are looking to back domain specialists in professional services, with their feet on the ground whose approach to business building aligns with ours,” he said.

Explaining common errors made by business owners, Mr Caan said most entrepreneurs tend to run before they can walk. Most entrepreneurs are “slightly maverick, overly aggressive and overly ambitious” and want to do everything too quickly. Take one step at a time and build a proper foundation, he said.

He also tells how entrepreneurs tend to quickly spend money raised and not treat it like their own. They need to be prudent while spending capital.

“A lot of entrepreneurs think that because they have a great idea, they have a great business. A great idea does not mean you have a business. What we as investors look for in an entrepreneur is how they can articulate how to execute the business idea,” Mr Caan suggested.

“So, in your pitch, make sure you can articulate how will you go about building a business, deploy the capital and how to deliver returns to the investor.”

He also urged investors to avoid using a cookie-cutter approach and, instead, understand the market dynamics, corporate governance and align themselves with the region’s cultural challenges.

Just because something worked in the West does not mean it will work here, he said.

Hamilton Bradshaw, which invests in both start-ups and scale-ups, does not have a limit in terms of investment capital.

“If we see the right businesses in the right industries with the right founders, we’d invest in them,” according to Mr Caan.

The company will start operations in Dubai, and expand to Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, and the wider Mena region.