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Richard Desmond, one of Britain’s best-known Fleet Street moguls, has obtained a golden visa in Dubai for “lifestyle” reasons, joining a growing number of wealthy foreigners in the tax-friendly Gulf states.
The 72-year-old British millionaire received the United Arab Emirates visa this summer after buying a house in Dubai, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
Desmond will continue to be a UK taxpayer both personally and through his UK-based company, said one of the people. The decision was a “lifestyle choice”, given the “better climate” both in terms of weather and business environment, the person said. The move comes as he was “diversifying” his portfolio with company investments and overseas property.
A spokesman for Desmond declined to comment.
The move is likely to fuel anxiety that the UK has stopped being a welcoming and stable destination for entrepreneurs and the wealthy since the Brexit referendum.
Desmond, who previously owned tabloid newspapers including the Daily Express and the Daily Star, will now split his time between Dubai and London, according to the two people with knowledge of his plans. He intends to keep his family home near Hampstead and his City offices in the Northern & Shell Building overlooking the river Thames.
One of the people pointed to the “doom and gloom” among entrepreneurs since the Labour party entered government. Desmond has been equally frustrated with the state of the Conservative government in power when he started to consider the move, the person noted however.
He has “lost confidence in British politics”, said the person. “He likes being in the UK and will spend a lot of his time here but is an entrepreneur at heart — and he sees the opportunities now over in Dubai.”
A growing numbers of wealthy UK individuals are examining whether to move abroad for various reasons, including taxation under the newly elected Labour government. Entrepreneurs and private equity financiers are notably concerned about the prospect of higher taxes on capital gains.
The abolition of the generous UK “non-dom” regime that allowed expatriates to avoid paying tax on overseas income has also prompted wealthy foreigners to relocate to tax-friendlier jurisdictions. Countries including the UAE, Italy and Switzerland are jostling to attract mobile high-net-worth individuals and their families, including through tax breaks.
Once the biggest donor to Nigel Farage’s UK Independence party ahead of the Brexit referendum, Desmond has also donated to the Labour party in the past, and allowed his newspapers to switch between Labour and the Conservatives — often whichever was in power.
Dubai has enjoyed strong momentum after being one of the earlier cities to reopen its economy following a tough lockdown in the Covid-19 pandemic, pitching itself as a safe place to holiday and work for foreigners. Investing the equivalent of $500,000, being an entrepreneur or just having a special skillset is usually enough to secure UAE residency.
Desmond’s company, Northern & Shell, lost out in 2022 on the licence to run the national lottery to the Czech-owned Allwyn, which has led to ongoing legal action by the media mogul against the decision-making process.
Northern & Shell is also the owner of the Health Lottery, which since its launch in 2011 has raised more than £130mn for 3,400 local health projects across the UK.
Desmond has also spent many years trying to redevelop the Westferry Printworks site on the Thames. This summer, after eight years and three attempts, Northern & Shell secured planning approval by Tower Hamlets Council for a £1bn residential development in east London.
Additional reporting by Chloe Cornish in Dubai
