Selling the business you've spent years building is likely the single largest financial event of your life – and most owners do it once, with no benchmark for what a good process looks like against buyers who negotiate for a living. Corvian Advisory manages your complete sale in Dubai or Abu Dhabi: preparation, independent valuation, buyer outreach, negotiation, and a clean trade licence transfer at close. CFA. CA. ACCA. 100% confidential, start to finish.
How do I sell my business in Dubai or Abu Dhabi? Get an independent valuation before speaking to a single buyer, fix any financial or compliance issues a buyer would flag (unaudited accounts, WPS gaps, UAE Corporate Tax registration), prepare a proper Confidential Information Memorandum, run a confidential, competitive process against multiple qualified buyers rather than one, negotiate price and terms, then transfer the trade licence through DET, ADDED or your free zone authority at completion. A well-run sale typically takes 6–12 months and, done properly, adds 20–40% to what an unprepared, single-buyer sale would achieve.
Across Dubai and Abu Dhabi, professional acquirers, PE funds and family offices run acquisitions every year. Most business owners sell once. That experience gap consistently produces the same three outcomes: underpriced deals sold to the first serious buyer, poorly structured payment terms, and post-completion disputes that could have been negotiated away up front.
A sell-side advisor closes that gap – positioning your business to attract multiple credible buyers, using competitive tension to push price toward its real ceiling, and negotiating a structure that protects you after you've handed over the keys.
"The best time to start preparing your Dubai or Abu Dhabi business for sale is two years before you want to sell. The second best time is today – either way, the preparation is what determines the price."
Our mandate covers the full lifecycle: preparation, valuation, an institutional-quality CIM, targeted buyer outreach across the UAE, GCC and beyond, managed due diligence, negotiation, and licence transfer at close.
Multiple credible buyers in parallel, each aware others are in the room. A single-buyer conversation gives away your leverage from the first call.
Buyers form their first impression from your CIM. Investment-bank standard financial analysis and independent EBITDA normalisation, not a slide deck with accounts stapled on.
We approach UAE strategics, GCC PE-backed platforms, family offices and international buyers using Dubai or Abu Dhabi as a GCC entry point – not just whoever happens to see your listing.
Anonymised teaser, signed NDAs before any information sharing, staged disclosure – your staff, customers and competitors don't find out before you're ready.
Earn-outs, working capital peg, escrow, warranties, licence transfer sequencing – we negotiate the whole package, not just the headline number.
The gap between what a UAE business is worth today and what it could achieve in a well-run, well-prepared sale is frequently 20–40%. Pre-sale preparation adds measurable value and prevents deals from collapsing mid-process on issues a buyer's due diligence would have found anyway.
For owners planning an exit 6–24 months out, we run a pre-sale readiness review that flags the top issues affecting valuation or completion risk. For owners ready to sell now, we run preparation in parallel with CIM production so it doesn't add months to the timeline.
Common issues we find in Dubai and Abu Dhabi SMEs: unaudited management accounts, owner-dependent revenue, outstanding UAE Corporate Tax registration or filing, WPS payroll gaps, EOSB liabilities not properly provisioned, and free zone vs. mainland licence mismatches with the actual customer base.
Audited accounts, consistent policies, a documented EBITDA normalisation bridge.
Signed contracts, pricing documentation, customer concentration analysis.
Documented processes and management depth showing the business runs without you.
CT registration, filing status, free zone qualifying-income position, WPS payroll records.
Trade licence (DET/ADDED/free zone authority), visa compliance, lease and contract review.
Designed to create competitive tension, protect confidentiality throughout, and maximise price and terms. Same advisor leading every stage.
Exit strategy, timing, valuation expectations, pre-sale preparation, data room foundation.
Independent valuation establishing your price anchor; institutional-quality CIM and teaser produced.
Targeted, confidential approach to 15–30 qualified buyers – UAE, GCC and international.
Indicative offers received, shortlist selected, management presentations run, all Q&A managed through us.
Best offer selected, exclusivity negotiated, buyer due diligence managed to protect your position.
Final price and terms, SPA commercial review, trade licence transfer via DET/ADDED, completion.
Adjacent-sector Dubai and Abu Dhabi businesses acquiring for market share or capability. Often pay the highest multiples via synergies.
Increasingly common in Dubai: professionals and expats buying an established business rather than starting one, often as a residency pathway.
GCC-focused PE funds and platform companies seeking Dubai or Abu Dhabi add-ons. Disciplined, process-oriented buyers.
Dubai and Abu Dhabi family offices and HNW capital allocators motivated by diversification and yield outside real estate.
Achievable multiple depends on normalised EBITDA, growth trajectory, earnings quality, customer concentration, owner-dependency, licence type, and deal structure. We produce an independent, CFA-standard valuation before any buyer conversation.
| Sector | EV/EBITDA | Key Driver |
|---|---|---|
| Technology & SaaS | 10x–18x | ARR, churn, NRR, moat |
| Financial & Professional Services | 8x–15x | Licence, client retention |
| Healthcare | 8x–14x | Specialist mix, DHA/DOH licence |
| Education & Training | 7x–12x | Enrolment, KHDA/ADEK rating |
| Logistics | 6x–10x | Contract length, routes |
| Real Estate Services | 5x–9x | Transaction volume, brand |
| F&B & Retail | 4x–8x | Brand, locations, concept |
| Industrial & Manufacturing | 4x–7x | Backlog, asset condition |
Illustrative mid-market ranges based on Corvian Advisory Dubai & Abu Dhabi deal intelligence, 2025–2026. Get a full independent Dubai valuation → · Abu Dhabi valuation →
Financials not institutionally clean; owner remuneration commingled with operating costs. 6 weeks pre-sale preparation before any buyer approach.
18-year family business; priorities included price, employee continuity, and preserving the family name locally. Stakeholder alignment took five weeks.
An unsolicited approach undervalued the business by an estimated 30%. We ran a competitive process to 17 buyers across UAE and GCC – 5 NDAs, 3 serious offers in 7 weeks.
All fees agreed in a signed engagement letter before work begins. Success fee is fully aligned with your deal completing.
Covers valuation, CIM production, buyer outreach, process management, and negotiation support. Smaller mandates may carry no retainer.
Payable only on completion, fully aligned with your outcome. Rate reflects deal size – larger deals attract the lower end.
For owners 6–18 months from a planned exit. Identifies diligence issues before buyers find them.
"I'd been approached directly by one buyer and nearly accepted. Corvian's valuation showed I was about to leave AED 12M on the table. We ran a proper process instead."
"Selling a family business after nearly two decades in Abu Dhabi isn't just financial. Corvian managed the family dynamics, kept staff in the dark until the right moment, and exceeded our price expectation."
"The CIM Corvian produced was a different class from anything we could have built ourselves. Buyers came to meetings already convinced. That competitive process alone added millions to the final price."
Every sale mandate in Dubai and Abu Dhabi is led personally by our senior team – highly qualified, Big 4-trained, and delivered to global standards at boutique pricing.
CFA, CA, ACCA and MSc Finance & Economics qualified – critical for pre-sale EBITDA normalisation and a defensible asking price.
Senior team trained at Big 4 firms and top-tier management consultancies across the UAE and GCC.
Valuation and CIM work that stands up to buyers' auditors, UAE banks and the FTA.
CFA-led delivery at boutique pricing – the principal doing the work, not a junior team.
Valuation, confidentiality and process questions from owners and founders across the UAE.
Six stages: preparation, valuation, CIM production, buyer outreach, due diligence management, and negotiation to close and licence transfer.
4x–18x normalised EBITDA depending on sector, growth, earnings quality, customer concentration, and deal structure.
A broker lists publicly and matches from a database. An advisor runs a managed, confidential, institutional-grade competitive process working only for you.
Anonymised teaser, NDAs before any information sharing, a controlled buyer list, and staged information release throughout the process.
Transferred to the buyer via DET, ADDED or your free zone authority, or the buyer takes over the licence-holding entity through a share sale.
Yes – DMCC, JAFZA, DIFC, ADGM and other free zone entities can be sold via share or asset transfer, subject to that authority's approval process.
Typically 6–12 months from mandate signing to completion, including preparation, outreach, diligence, and closing.
Six stages: pre-sale preparation and readiness review, independent valuation, CIM (Confidential Information Memorandum) production, confidential buyer outreach, managed due diligence, and negotiation through to trade licence transfer and completion. A sell-side advisor runs the process while you keep running the business day to day.
UAE SMEs typically trade at 4x–18x normalised EBITDA depending on sector, growth trajectory, and earnings quality. Technology and healthcare command the highest multiples in Dubai and Abu Dhabi; F&B, retail and industrial trade at 4x–8x. The only reliable way to know your number is an independent valuation before you speak to a single buyer.
A broker typically lists your business publicly on a marketplace and matches from an existing buyer database, often earning commission that can create an incentive to close quickly rather than at the best price. An M&A advisor runs a managed, confidential, competitive process on your behalf only, with an independent valuation anchoring your expectations before any offer is discussed.
We begin with an anonymised teaser that doesn't name your business, require signed NDAs before releasing identifying information, control exactly who sees the full CIM, and release financial and operational detail in stages. Employees, customers and suppliers typically learn only once a deal is near completion, protecting your business's stability throughout the process.
Depending on structure, the trade licence is transferred to the buyer through DET (Dubai), ADDED (Abu Dhabi) or the relevant free zone authority, or the buyer takes over the licence-holding entity via a share sale. We sequence this alongside the SPA so it's not a last-minute bottleneck to your completion date.
Yes. Free zone entities (DMCC, JAFZA, Dubai South, DIFC in Dubai; ADGM, KIZAD, Masdar City, twofour54 in Abu Dhabi) can be sold via share transfer or asset sale, subject to the specific free zone authority's approval process, which varies in timeline and documentation from a mainland sale.
A well-run sale typically takes 6–12 months from mandate signing to completion: preparation and valuation, CIM production, buyer outreach, management presentations, due diligence, negotiation, and regulatory or licence transfer approvals.
Four main categories: M&A advisory fees (typically a modest monthly retainer plus a 1.5–5% success fee on completion), legal fees for SPA drafting and review, accounting or audit costs if statements need cleaning up pre-sale, and authority transfer fees for licence and, where applicable, real estate or asset transfer.