Brand Britain is building on its high reputation in the Gulf to attract significant levels of new investment from the region awash with cash from high oil revenues.

In addition, British business is enjoying successes in its bid to become a pre-eminent provider of key consultancy services increasingly needed by the Gulf economies as they continue to expand and diversify. 
Gulf investments in foreign companies globally could peak above the $60 billion mark if and when the Sainsbury’s purchase goes ahead, according to news reports in the summer. Notwithstanding the outcome of this transaction, which was ongoing at the time of writing, by the first half of the 2007 Gulf investors had made foreign acquisitions worth more than $40 billion ($79.2 billion) with a large proportion of it heading the UK’s way.
The UK, with its historic ties to the Arab business world, is now a key destination for both private and government-backed funds from Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Qatar looking to build broad portfolios of investments.
Significant acquisitions recently have included Delta Two’s purchase of the Four Seasons nursing home business for £1.4 billion in 2006. The same firm was among defeated bidders for Thames Water, illustrating that its interest in the UK market was not a one-off.
In fact, Qatari funds now have extensive UK care home assets. Three Delta, the Qatar-backed investment fund seeking to take over J Sainsbury, has strengthened its position as one of the UK’s largest private provider of care homes when it paid £270 million for Care Principles in July this year.
Gulf investors now have an increasingly high profile in the UK following their acquisition of some top-ranking brand names. In March 2007, for example, two Kuwaiti investors, Investment Dar and Adeem Investment, emerged as the chief backers of the deal that brought the iconic Aston Martin back under British management to much applause from some circles.
In 2005, Dubai International Capital paid £800 million for the Tussauds Group, which owns some of the UK’s most celebrated tourist attractions. The Dubai investor followed this in 2006 when it bought Travelodge for £675 million.
Of course, one of the most high profile acquisitions in 2006 came when Dubai Ports paid almost £4bn for the shipping and ports company P&O.
The demand for UK legal and consultancy services in the Gulf has really taken off in the few years. All the leading UK law firms appear to be opening offices around the Gulf with branches mushrooming on an almost weekly basis as they seek to take advantage of the major opportunities available.
In May 2007, Clifford Chance relocated its London corporate partner Iain Hunter to Dubai in a bid to win investment mandates coming from the region.
Unsurprisingly Saudi Arabia has seen considerable activity, with law firms such as Denton Wilde Sapte and Allen & Overy recently securing alliances in the Kingdom.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer won a major Saudi client, advising Saudi Telecom Company (STC) on its $3.05 billion acquisition of a 25 per cent stake in a Malaysian telecoms operator. Freshfields has four Saudi-qualified lawyers and works regularly with leading Saudi practice Salah Al-Hejailan.
UK exporters are also benefiting from the Gulf consumer boom that exists in the Gulf today.  A regional survey by Mastercard has shown consumer confidence at near all-time highs in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE and Qatar. Saudi Arabia, for example, now receives 5 per cent of its goods and services from the UK, according to data from Deutsche Bank, which also revealed the “eurozone” countries, including the UK, to be the main source of imports for the Gulf.
Another high profile branding looking to the Gulf is London’s Hamleys which recently announced the conclusion of a $6 million franchise deal allowing the top toy store to open its doors in three Gulf locations, Dubai, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, by the first quarter of 2009.