A multimillionaire tech entrepreneur has laid out the frustrations of life in Britain that have prompted his imminent move to Dubai.
Herman Narula told The National that a tax system that disincentivises job-creating risk-takers, a government without vision, and anti-immigration sentiment have persuaded him to trade in the country he has called home since the age of two for the “appealing” and “visionary” UAE.
The chief executive of tech company Improbable, which has been valued at £2.5 billion, said successive governments have failed to grasp the opportunities offered by AI, which means Britain is no longer a beacon of breakthrough industries.
“This is a country that was the birth of the Industrial Revolution, and now it doesn't even have a single domestic company of note associated with [AI],” Mr Narula said. He criticised a “series of disconnected, haphazard policies which don't produce value”.
He said he had already “received hate” for announcing his decision, but said “if you just leave quietly then nothing will change”.
Mr Narula joins a growing list of high-profile people to leave Britain and head to the UAE, including property billionaire Asif Aziz, FinTech executive Nik Storonsky and Aston Villa FC co-owner Nassef Sawiris. Revised figures released on Tuesday showed 257,000 British nationals emigrated in 2024, compared to 143,000 who returned.
Taxman
The straw that broke the camel’s back for Mr Narula was the suggestion that the UK government could introduce in next week’s budget an exit tax for wealthy people who relocate abroad. That plan, which appears to have been shelved along with a proposal to raise income tax, was mooted due to the dash to Dubai by thousands of high net-worth individuals feeling penalised by increasing taxes.
Mr Narula, 37, whose wealth is estimated at £780 million, said he has no confidence “at all” in Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government.
“It's less about the exit tax and more about not knowing what the next five budgets are going to hold and what random things are going to be placed inside them. I think in that context, I would rather pursue opportunities elsewhere until the situation improves.”
He believes the Treasury “sees only money to pilfer in the short term” from successful entrepreneurs.
Mr Narula has considered donating to the Liberal Democrats and has put forward his own proposal for a tax regime that would support ventures to drive growth in Britain by rewarding people who take productive risks by starting companies that improve lives or invent new technologies.
Those investing up to £50 million would do so tax-free, with no capital gains tax for any shares at the early stage, and access to fast-track visas for their first 10 to 20 employees, to allow them “to steal the world’s best scientists and talent”. Those who succeed would continue to receive tax breaks as they invest more.
This alone would create more than 1,000 start-ups per year, he suggests, making it “more probable than not” that at least one £100 billion business would be developed locally within five to 10 years.
Anti-immigrant ‘fervour’
Mr Narula hopes the current situation will change “in the next year, or five years”, but in the meantime he owes it to his investors and partners to “maximise” opportunities.
He said although he will be relocating personally, his businesses will remain based in the UK and he will retain his British citizenship. He moved from India as a child with his mother and his father, property developer Harpinder Singh Narula, who has carried out work in Iran, Libya and Kuwait.
He said he has been concerned by the “politics of anger and cruelty” in the UK. He cited “immense anti-immigrant fervour” from the right, most notably the campaign to raise England flags on lampposts and paint them on roundabouts, while on the left “people dislike success and dislike the opportunities that brings”. He feels Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform, which is riding high in the polls, is stuck on one setting, believing “immigration is bad” as he “gestures angrily at the Channel”.
Mr Narula said it was “weird” to feel that the UK is not the place for a risk-taking investor, especially as he had even been sanctioned by Russia for his company's work with the British military.
He wrote on a Substack: “Both sides of the political spectrum are arguing over blame, slicing up the ever-smaller portions of the shrinking, expired meal deal that is the British economy. The politics of cruelty and anger are national self-destruction dressed up as policy.”
Expansion goal
Improbable was launched in 2012 as a cloud computing pioneer to create large-scale virtual worlds and simulations, to help organisations make investment decisions. It has developed products in gaming, defence, artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies.
It raised £380 million ($500 million) in 2017 from Japanese tech giant SoftBank. Improbable made a maiden profit of £12.9 million in 2023 before making a £17.4 million loss last year, according to accounts filed at Companies House.
Mr Narula plans to expand into the UAE, creating and investing in new businesses. He is particularly curious about crypto opportunities, comparing the Bank of England’s “insane” limits and prohibitions with the UAE’s “clear regime” which does not have an “anti-business attitude”.
He knows Dubai well and people living there, including his brother. He said there is a “tonne of brilliant, talented people who've chosen to make Dubai their home” due to the welcoming environment. The emirate has a “real shot” at replicating the success of Silicon Valley as a tech hub, and UAE “visionaries” are taking advantage of AI through investments such as the company G42, he said.
'No-brainer'
Mr Narula says he is not phased by moving abroad, pointing out that “wealth creators are highly mobile”. As someone without a wife or children, it is a “no-brainer decision”, he said.
His company already operates in the metaverse, so operating on another continent does not concern him.
“I don't really spend that much time in any one place. My focus is always building interesting things. I’m just a nerd. If I have a laptop I’m fine.”
