About
Gareth Jones
Founder, Start Business Services FZ CO
I help UK, Irish and Australian business owners establish and operate properly in the UAE. I speak to the bank about the company before we open it, so we know what they’d need to open the account.
Most of what decides whether a UAE company works is settled before the licence is issued: what the business actually does, how it is owned, and whether a bank will open an account for it.
Who do we work with?
We work with UK, Irish, Australian and other international owners moving or expanding a real business to Dubai and the UAE — from residence visas to bank accounts.
Company formation since 2009, the UAE since 2013.
I have been doing this work for seventeen years — hundreds of company setups, in Dubai and the wider UAE, and before that in the BVI, Cayman, Hong Kong, Belize, the UK and Delaware. Before Start Business Services I held senior roles in international corporate services, at NorthWestern Management Services, Aston Advisory Group and Intershore Consult, and before that in business development for private banking and investment houses.
That is where the work comes from: bringing company formation, banking, visas and the ongoing compliance under one roof, so an owner is not holding four suppliers together.
I am not doing this on my own. Everyone on the team worked inside the large UAE free zones before joining. They used to be the people issuing the licences, and between us we handle the company, the bank account, the visas, and the accounts and tax each year.
Why do we speak to the bank before we open the company?
Opening the company isn’t the hard part — getting the bank to open an account for it is. So before we submit the application to the free zone or the relevant authority, we look at how the company will be formed, what it does, and how it’s owned, including whether the activity is likely to make the bank expect a physical office.
Then we speak to the bank directly about the company, so they can tell us if they see any issues and what they’d need in place to open the account. At Start Business Services we speak to the bank about the company before it is set up, so their requirements are known before anything is filed.
Our UAE business bank account page sets out how that runs in practice: the documents, the timings and what the compliance team looks at. There are worked examples in our case studies.
My background: economics first, then corporate and contracts law
I studied at SOAS University of London, starting with a BSc in International Economics (1997–2001). I then took an MSc in International Business Administration with International Economics (2001–2003, Distinction). My background is in corporate and contracts law. It is why I read a licence, a shareholder agreement or a bank’s terms for what it actually commits you to, and that is what shapes how we run things.
I’ve since done formal training in UAE law, so that background holds for the work we do here. For you, it means we look at what the company will commit you to before we form it, not just whether the licence gets issued.
What do we handle for you?
We handle the company setup, the visas, the bank accounts and the UAE accounting. The UK side is coordinated with our UK tax advisers, and any audit or liquidation with outside firms we work with regularly.
In short
- Company setup: mainland, free zone, or the UAE’s two international financial centres, the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) — matched to what the business actually needs. Of those two, I set up companies in the DIFC, the Dubai one; I don’t open companies in Abu Dhabi, but both are explained on this site so you can compare them.
- What mainland means: the UAE government’s u.ae portal says a mainland company is licensed by the emirate itself, so the company can trade directly across the UAE.
- What a free zone means: free zones are the UAE business districts that license and register companies.
- Residence visa, Emirates ID and tax residency certificate. The UAE government’s u.ae portal describes the Emirates ID as the national identity card every UAE resident holds. The Federal Tax Authority describes the tax residency certificate as the document that proves to another country you are tax resident here.
- Personal and business bank accounts: direct with the bank’s compliance team, start to finish.
- UAE accounting: bookkeeping, VAT returns, corporate tax, management accounts and payroll, in-house.
- UK side, coordinated with our UK tax advisers: the Statutory Residence Test, exit timing, and planning since the old non-dom rule was replaced. That old rule was the remittance basis. The UK government’s guidance on gov.uk says: “On 6 April 2025 the 4-year foreign income and gains regime replaced the remittance basis”. Your own UK adviser confirms where you stand.
- Annual audit (where required) and liquidation: coordinated with external firms we work with regularly.
What do I write about?
I write about the practical decisions that determine whether a UAE move works in reality: UK tax residence, where a company is actually run from (management and control), banking expectations, corporate structures, and the compliance requirements that appear after the licence has been issued.
How do you reach me?
I’m on WhatsApp and I take calls.
Who is Start Business Services best for?
Best for people who are past the “is the UAE a good idea” stage and into “how do I do this properly.” Usually established business owners — though a genuine new business is welcome too, as long as it’s real. Not every business works in the UAE, and we’re upfront about that. Either way, you deal with the same adviser from the first call onwards.
“Gareth, Emma, Huda and the team at Start Business were and continue to be instrumental in the founding and advancing of our business in the UAE. Their no-nonsense, straight-talking and transparent approach is refreshing.”— Nama Zarroug · Google review
Talk to Gareth directly
Tell me what the business does and what you’re trying to achieve in the UAE, and I’ll tell you whether it’s a fit — and how the setup and banking would actually work. I read these myself, and reply within a working day.
Talk to us