Private clubs and boarding schools: Abu Dhabi’s plan to attract ultra-wealthy

Abu Dhabi is pulling out all the stops to lure investors and ultra high net worths, with private members’ clubs, boarding schools and revamped private banking. It’s a sharp pitch aimed straight at those with deep pockets, including those considering leaving the UK.

Speaking to City AM, His Excellency Hareb Al Mheiri, executive director of the investor growth sector at the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), said he is creating a ‘one stop shop’ for investors, especially high net worths.

It could be an ideal time for the Middle East city, as the UK is set to lose the greatest proportion of millionaires in the world in the next four years. The Adam Smith Institute predicted that the share of the UK’s population who are millionaires will plummet by 20 per cent before 2028. Who knows where they might go, but competition to attract them is fierce.

This revelation came before the Labour government scrapped the non-dom regime in the Autumn Budget. The non-dom regime will be removed from the tax system from April 2025, in a move that has prompted a steady departure of the country’s wealthiest.

As part of Al Mheiri’s initiatives to establish the right environment to attract family offices over to the capital city of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the government entity is bringing over private members’ clubs.

“Currently I’m talking to private members’ clubs brands… with more than seven brands from Europe, and another three brands from China,” he explained.

As part of this strategy, Al Mheiri pointed out he wants the private clubs to have “different concepts”, such as one focused on family offices, and for them to be spread around Abu Dhabi.

Abu Dhabi eyes up prestigious boarding schools

Another focus to attract high net worths to Abu Dhabi is for the city to set up boarding schools. Al Mheiri noted, working closely with the education authority, the ADIO is talking to “a couple of brands from UK” and Switzerland.

It was reported in July that the UK’s elite Harrow School in London, that has Winston Churchill among its alumni, is set to open its first international branch in the UAE in the next two years.

While in addition, his office is also working with the local banks “to scale up the private banking service to meet the objective or the requirement of the family offices”.

“In my pipeline, if I’m talking about leads of those interested to come to Abu Dhabi, I have more than 700”. He added that between 10 to 15 per cent of those are British-based.

However, Al Mheiri stated that he is “a bit picky” as unlike five to six years ago, when he was explaining ‘why Abu Dhabi’, the talking point has flipped to ‘why not Abu Dhabi’, he stated.

“I’m not shooting everywhere, I’m choosing my clients, and this is what makes it unique for London investors, especially for family offices,” he added.

He explained that when his department has targeted family offices, the profile of the family office and the interest is really important. “I need to have the right marriage between the international investors/family offices and the local private sector as well.”

Al Mheiri, who spend over 18 years working for Abu Dhabi’s national airline, Etihad, including seven years based in London, also has plans to bulk out ADIO’s presence in London.

As part of a ‘help investors’ strategy, the ADIO opened up offices across eight cities, including in London back in 2021.

However, as Al Mheiri noted, the Mayfair-based office currently has just a few staff representing its initiative. But – as part of its ‘one stop shop’ initiative – the department is “moving forward to have a proper office in London, with a proper plan”.