Carol Fraser is co-founder of No More Bottles, a Dubai company that supplies and services mains-fed water filtration systems, enabling hotels, offices and homes to drink tap water, reducing costs and plastic usage — by 375,000 bottles annually at one hotel.
Born in Scotland, she has been working in the drinking water industry since the late 1980s, including co-owning a water cooler company. During a Dubai holiday, she met a former colleague and began devising No More Bottles. Ms Fraser, 48, relocated to the UAE in 2017 with her husband Garry, a former property developer, who now works with her, their 11-year-old son and daughter, 16. They live in Damac Hills.
How did your upbringing shape your attitude towards money?
I was born in Hamilton (south-east of Glasgow), on a council estate, with one younger sister. My parents worked in a factory. We had food on the table, clothes on our back, got to do things we wanted to do, but if you wanted something in particular you had to save pocket money; about £2 (Dh9.5) a week. Money was never handed on a plate, hence when I left school I was encouraged to get a job. You strived to do something better and my priority for my kids now is to always do good for them.
My best investment was a plot of land in Scotland we bought in 2004. We split the big country house on it into two and built three houses around it.
How much did you earn in your first job?
I left school at 16, straight into my first job, which was office work on a Youth Training Scheme for £29.50 a week. Later on, a boss at the time started a company and introduced five gallon water dispensers to Scotland. I went from sales administrator to distribution manager, to branch manager. Then we got bought out and I became general manager for the Scottish division.
Are you a saver or a spender?
At the moment a spender; starting a business here is not cheap. We funded it from savings. We’re primarily a rental business so we’re having to buy equipment. It takes several years to get your investment back. So far we’ve got about 900 machines and it’s growing rapidly.
We’ve still got savings we live on just now. We’ve got stocks and shares and a property we rent out in the UK. We always had quite a large chunk in the bank we could get at if we needed, like if we wanted to buy land quickly.
Why did you launch a business in the UAE?
For my 40th birthday I came to Dubai, a birthday present from my husband. We loved it and started coming every few months for long weekends. During one of the first visits I met by chance my now business partner, who used to work for me in the UK. He had a job here with one of the biggest five gallon water companies. We were talking about the volume of water drunk in the region, the logistics. An average water cooler in a UK office uses 39 bottles per year. Here they were using 10-20 per week.
There were no high-end filtration companies in the UAE and we discussed opening a business. I made the move over in 2017 and No More Bottles started that June, mainly business to business, but exploring how could we make filtration possible in the home. Now that’s 50 per cent of our business. We saw an opportunity here and were in a position where we could come and start a new life. We said ‘if we don’t do it now, we never will’.
How much money can filtration save?
Commercial customers are on average saving 50-70 per cent of what they’d be paying using bottled water. An average family saves 50 per cent, if spending Dh50 per week on bottles. We’re speaking to a number of hotels in the region.
When I came here it was mainly a commercial venture, I didn’t realise the feel-good factor of getting involved in plastic-free UAE and the things we can do to make a difference. It’s a recessionproof business. It saves people money and helps the environment, so it’s win-win.
What’s your best investment?
A plot of land in Scotland we bought in 2004. We split the big country house on it into two and built three houses around it. We still have planning permission for another 10 houses, so if this goes wrong we can go back and start building again. But I believe we’re in the right place, at the right time with the right product with No More Bottles, and this will be our best investment.
Are you wise with money?
We’ve learnt to be as we went along. I’ve been lucky, my husband is good with money, has always been a saver, and that rubs off. We’ve never had separate money, anything we’ve earned always went into the pot.
When we bought our first house, by the time we’d paid our mortgage and bills we had £40 a week between the two of us. That took us out at the weekend, fed us, got us clothed, travel to work. We’ve been careful and never had credit card debt. We don’t get it if we can’t afford it.
During the 2008 property crash we lost a great deal, but we came back. You always keep enough to start again. My husband always has the plan B, whereas I’ll always go ‘I’ve got the vision, let’s go for it’.
There have been times when a house sale fell though, but it’s never been the end of the world.
What are you happiest spending on?
Holidays, rather than possessions, when you can spend time to relax with the kids. Bora Bora is on the hit list of places to go. Prior to Dubai, our favourite place was the Dominican Republic. We need to start going east a bit more, though.
I’m not very materialistic. My husband, on the other hand likes his cars and motorbikes.
Is there anything you regret spending on?
A 4 Series BMW bought in 2016 for £45,000. It had ‘run-flat’ tyres, so anytime one burst you had to order from Italy and wait three days for a new one costing a fortune. It had a nice body kit, until you hit a kerb, £1,000 every time to repair — I must have done that four or five times. I was glad to see the back if it. Now I’m driving a 10-year-old No More Bottles sign-written Land Rover. It’s practical.
What’s been your key financial milestone?
When we paid the mortgage off on the family home — five-bedrooms, detached on a nice estate, that we built ourselves — in our early thirties. In the UK we bought land, built houses, sold them on. Business was doing well.
Do you plan for the future?
We want to be retired by the time we’re 55. It was 50, but we’ve extended because of the business. We thought we’d come here, make some money and go back home, but we found we like living here. My husband wants to sail around the South Pacific and we’re looking at doing a joint venture in Africa. Everyone’s going to wake up tomorrow morning and need a drink of water.
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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.”
'Ghostbusters: From Beyond'
Director: Jason Reitman
Starring: Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace
Rating: 2/5
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
