Killik and Co is to close its Dubai headquarters at the end of September and will service all of its offshore clients from its London base, International Investment has learned.
The Mayfair-based stockbroker and wealth manager was founded in 1989, and opened the Dubai outpost in 2008, with offices in the Dubai International Financial Centre.
Paul Killik, partner, co-founder and senior executive officer at Killik & Co, pictured, confirmed that the move was imminent, in a statement sent to International Investment late this afternoon.
“Due to the increasingly global nature of Killik & Co’s offshore clients, whose locations stretch from regions as far as Australasia to Europe, the partnership has taken the strategic view to refocus the operational activity from its London headquarters in Grosvenor Street,” Killik said.
“We will therefore be closing our Dubai branch from the end of September.”
In addition to its main office on Grosvenor Street, Killik has another seven offices in the greater London area and a regional branch in Ipswich, according to its website.
The news of Killik & Co’s departure from Dubai is likely to surprise many and sadden more than a few, due to its established, and distinctive, status in the market there.
DIFC offices
Killik opened its Dubai International Financial Centre offices in 2008, and over the years since then, its genteel, panelled, gentleman’s club-like ambiance in the otherwise starkly modern complex has made it a memorable landmark to expats visiting the DIFC, whether regular Killik clients or merely passers-by.
It stood out in another way that had nothing to do with its decor, though, in that it offered a fee-based wealth advisory service, in a marketplace where, especially in its earliest days there, this was all-but-unheard of.
Paul Killik, meanwhile, was quick to assure Killik & Co’s Dubai clients that the firm remained “committed” to them, and others in the international marketplace.
“We are committed to Killik Offshore, which continues to be a fundamental part of the business’s growth and development, and believe we can better serve our clients from our London headquarters,” he concluded in his statement.
