What is financial due diligence for Qatari and Saudi investors buying in the UAE? It is an independent verification of a UAE target's financial position, prepared for Qatari and Saudi (KSA) buyers: quality of earnings and normalised EBITDA, working capital and net debt, UAE corporate tax and VAT, end-of-service liabilities, and related-party and family-group transactions. Corvian Advisory delivers fixed-fee UAE reports from $6,000 in 3–5 weeks, written for your investment committee and shared with your own advisers.
Qatari and Saudi investors are acquiring more UAE businesses, and many of them are owner-managed, family-run or trading companies whose accounts were never built for a buyer. A generic checklist will miss the items that most often move price here: under-provided end-of-service benefits, informal payroll arrangements, customer concentration, free zone versus mainland trading limits and unclear VAT positions. Corvian leads the UAE side of the diligence and shares findings with your Qatari or Saudi legal, tax and financial advisers, so the whole deal team works from one set of numbers.
The UAE tax and legal picture differs by entity type, and the difference often changes what a target is worth to you. This overview shows what our UAE diligence tests for each structure.
| Workstream | UAE Mainland | Free Zone / DIFC / ADGM |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate tax | 9% on taxable income above AED 375,000 | Qualifying free zone income may be taxed at 0% |
| VAT | 5% standard rate; filing history and recoverability reviewed | Treatment depends on the entity, location and activity |
| Employee liabilities | End-of-service gratuity, leave and WPS payroll practice | DIFC and ADGM apply their own employment frameworks |
| Foreign ownership | 100% foreign ownership standard in most sectors | Licence scope defines permitted activities and customers |
| Legal framework | UAE federal and emirate-level law | DIFC and ADGM common-law frameworks based on English law |
| Common revenue risk | Customer concentration and owner-dependent relationships | Group and intercompany revenue dependence |
| Reporting basis | IFRS; audit history and quality vary by target | IFRS; audit history and quality vary by target |
| Currency | AED, pegged at 3.6725 to the US dollar | AED, pegged at 3.6725 to the US dollar |
Corvian's CFA-qualified, Big 4-trained principal leads every UAE mandate for Qatari and Saudi buyers personally, not a subcontractor. Our checklists come from direct UAE deal experience and are built around how UAE businesses actually report, employ and trade.
Confirm the target, entity type (mainland, free zone, DIFC or ADGM), number of entities and deal timeline. NDA the same day.
UAE-specific checklist: financial statements, tax and VAT filings, payroll and end-of-service records, contracts. Fixed fee agreed upfront.
Senior-led review of financials, tax computations, payroll and gratuity records, related-party contracts and customer concentration.
Draft QoE and red-flag report within 3–5 weeks, with a live walkthrough of adjustments and price impact.
Final report written for your investment committee, with continued support through SPA and price-adjustment negotiation.
A documented schedule of adjusted EBITDA, net debt and working capital items gives you a factual basis to renegotiate price before signing.
Where an exposure cannot be sized precisely, findings support a specific indemnity, retention or escrow in the SPA.
Findings can change the deal structure: deferred consideration, earn-outs, licence-transfer conditions or a different holding entity.
For a general overview of financial due diligence on UAE targets, or for UAE-based buyers, see our main Financial Due Diligence UAE page.
Single-entity UAE target, up to 3 years of financials.
Multi-entity target or a mix of mainland and free zone entities, with tax, VAT and end-of-service deep-dive included.
Group structures across several UAE entities, or a Qatari or Saudi group acquiring through a UAE holding company.
Tell us about the target, its entity type and the deal timeline. We will give you a fixed-fee quote within 24 hours, with no commitment required.
Yes. This page covers UAE-target diligence for Qatari and Saudi (KSA) investors. We lead the UAE-side analysis and share findings with your home-country advisers. For a general overview of UAE FDD, see our Financial Due Diligence UAE page.
It concentrates on UAE-specific items: corporate tax at 9% and free zone qualifying income, VAT filings, end-of-service gratuity and WPS payroll practice, licence scope, and the reliability of owner-managed accounts.
Employers accrue end-of-service gratuity for staff based on tenure and pay. Under-provision creates a liability that transfers to the buyer, so we recalculate the accrual and reflect any shortfall in net debt or price.
It applies at 9% on taxable income above AED 375,000 on the mainland, while qualifying free zone income may be taxed at 0%. We review the target's position and model after-tax earnings by entity type.
Yes. Licence scope, tax status, employment framework and permitted customers differ, so document requests and tests differ. We confirm the entity type at scoping.
Fixed fees run from $6,000 to $24,000 depending on target complexity, entity count and years of financials. Fees are agreed in full before work begins and can be invoiced in USD, AED, SAR or QAR.
Typically 3–5 weeks for a single-entity target with clean records, and longer for multi-entity groups or where records need reconstruction.
Many UAE mid-market businesses depend on a few customers or on relationships held by the owner. We test contract terms, renewal history and payment behaviour, because concentrated revenue is valued very differently from diversified revenue.
Yes. A documented schedule of adjustments gives you a factual basis to renegotiate price, request a specific indemnity or change deal terms before the SPA is signed.
3 to 5 years of financial statements, tax and VAT filings, payroll and end-of-service records, related-party and customer contract schedules, bank facility and lease agreements, and management accounts.
Yes. Your lawyers, tax advisers and auditors receive our findings directly, so home-country reporting and tax questions are handled by them while we lead the UAE-side analysis.
Yes. The same team supports UAE-based acquirers and investors from India, the UK, Europe and elsewhere. See our M&A geo pages for how we support investors from each country.
Construction and contracting, healthcare, logistics, F&B and retail, industrial and manufacturing, professional services and hospitality, across mainland and free zone structures.