Dubai/London: Alexander Johnson Group, the Dubai-based commercial real estate specialist, has expanded its London presence as UK and European demand for Dubai assets and business relocation support reaches record levels. The firm's senior team, led from its Dubai headquarters, is now spending significantly more time on the ground in London, meeting family offices, entrepreneurs and corporates seeking hotel, industrial, logistics and office opportunities in Dubai, as well as complete business and family moves.

The expansion includes appointing a dedicated London-based lead to anchor client relationships and coordinate the wider team's activity across the UK and Europe. This strengthens the Group's ability to offer a private banking-style advisory service in commercial real estate, with senior Dubai-based specialists travelling regularly between London, Geneva, Frankfurt and Dubai to support clients from first conversation through to operational launch or investment closure.

"In the last 12 to 18 months, London has become a nerve centre for our international conversations," said Alex Johnson, CEO of Alexander Johnson Group. "Investors are telling us the same thing: they want yield, they want growth, and they want a jurisdiction that is pro-business. Dubai keeps coming up at the top of that list and London is where many of those conversations are happening."

Post-Brexit, London remains a critical hub for global capital, private wealth and internationally mobile businesses, with decision-makers increasingly looking beyond Europe for the next decade of growth. For Alexander Johnson Group's Dubai-led commercial team, a stronger London footprint recognises that strategic discussions about capital rotation, regional headquarters and portfolio diversification are being framed in the UK before being executed on the ground in Dubai.

"We are spending more time in Mayfair boardrooms and City offices than ever before," Johnson added. "Clients don't just want a brochure on Dubai; they want a joined-up strategy that covers commercial assets, operations and people. London is where those strategies are built, and our team's role from Dubai is to translate them into bankable opportunities in the market."

Commercial market trends in Dubai

Dubai continues to strengthen its position as a global trading and business hub, supported by large-scale government investment and sustained demand across key commercial sectors. A Dh302.7 billion infrastructure programme for 2026–2028, including the expansion of Al Maktoum International Airport, new Metro lines and major logistics corridors, is designed to underpin growth in trade, tourism and industry.

For Alexander Johnson Group's clients, the trends emerging are:

  • Robust appetite for hotel and hospitality assets, driven by consistently high visitor numbers and occupancy.
  • Rapid expansion in industrial, logistics and warehousing demand linked to e-commerce and global trade flows.
  • Strong interest in premium office and mixed-use commercial space as companies relocate or expand regional headquarters to Dubai.

"Dubai offers something investors are finding harder to achieve elsewhere: institutional-quality product, speed of execution and a tax-efficient environment," Johnson said. "Our commercial real estate team is seeing capital reallocated from mature European markets into Dubai's next wave of industrial, logistics, hotel and office growth."

A defining part of the Group's proposition for relocating enterprises is its partnership with GEMS School of Research and Innovation (SRI), part of the GEMS Education network founded by Sunny Varkey. The collaboration allows the Alexander Johnson Group team,to align commercial real estate strategy with schooling and lifestyle planning for senior executives and their families, removing a key barrier to relocation.

Through the GEMS SRI partnership, clients benefit from:

  • Structured introductions and guidance around school options for relocating families.
  • Coordination between lease or acquisition timelines and the academic year.
  • On-the-ground support from both the commercial real estate team and education specialists to ensure a smooth landing in Dubai.

"When a CEO or founder in London decides to place more of their future in Dubai, the questions quickly move from 'Which asset?' to 'What does this mean for our people?'" Johnson noted. "By integrating GEMS SRI into our offer, our Dubai-led team can help clients make a single, confident decision on their commercial footprint and their families' lives."

When those pieces come together, Dubai stops being just an investment market and becomes a long-term base for capital, companies and the people behind them.

About Alexander Johnson Group

Alexander Johnson Group is a Dubai-based commercial real estate specialist with over 75 years of combined regional experience, with a particular focus on hotel and hospitality assets across the GCC. The firm advises corporations, institutional investors, family offices and business owners on the acquisition, disposal and repositioning of business hotels, luxury hospitality developments and serviced apartments, alongside industrial and logistics facilities, commercial land, and premium office and mixed-use schemes. Led from Dubai and supported by a senior team active in Dubai and now London, Alexander Johnson Group provides end-to-end, on-the-ground support for UK and European capital seeking institutional-grade exposure to Dubai's hotel market and wider commercial real estate opportunities.

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Kate Woodyatt Hudson
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