Private banking group Arbuthnot Latham will close its Dubai office on 31 May 2021, International Adviser can reveal.
The operation is in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority.
It offered private banking, wealth planning and investment management services to clients in Dubai, working with expats and GCC nationals.
A spokesperson from Arbuthnot Latham told IA: “We can confirm that we will be closing our office in Dubai on 31 May 2021.
“All our clients who currently have their relationship manager in Dubai will now be looked after by the London office, which is where all their investments, loans and deposits are held.
“The 13 employees in Dubai have all been offered similar roles in London and in many cases, we hope clients will retain their existing contact at the bank.”
Recent activity
The Dubai office closure may not come as a surprise due to the operation’s losses.
The private bank suffered a £2.8m ($3.97m, €3.25m) loss before tax in 2019, which is slightly less than the £2.9m loss in 2018.
In July 2020, Arbuthnot Latham said, in its H1 2020 results ending in June 2020, that the office had generated £2m (H1 2019: £2.1m) of income and had direct operating costs of £1.2m (H1 2019: £1.4m).
