A small advisory, on purpose
Since 2012 we have kept the team small enough that every client has one advisor who knows the whole file.
Why one advisor
Setting up in a new country is a long list of small decisions made in offices you’ve never seen. When three different people handle your file, the decisions get lost between them.
So we don’t pass files around. Your advisor plans the setup with you, files it, attends the appointments and hands you the pack. When your licence comes up for renewal next year, the same person calls.
We also keep our fees fixed and written down, take no commission from banks or free zones, and say so when you don’t need us.
- founded in Dubai
- 2012
- companies formed
- 1,400+
- advisors and specialists
- 14
- of clients renew with us
- 92%
Fourteen years, briefly
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2012
Layla Haddad opens Manara with one desk in Dubai and a rule: one advisor per client.
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2015
Claire Whitmore joins to lead residency and family visas.
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2016
Our Abu Dhabi office opens on Al Maryah Island, mainly for ADGM clients.
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2018
Arjun Mehta joins from banking, and corporate banking becomes a service of its own.
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2019
The Riyadh office opens in KAFD, for clients in Saudi Arabia setting up in the UAE.
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2023
Our compliance service starts as UAE corporate tax takes effect.
Licensed, insured and in writing
The registrations a corporate services firm must hold, and the promises we add ourselves.
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LIC
Licensed in Dubai as Manara Advisory FZ-LLC, licence no. 000000 (demo)
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AML
Registered for anti-money-laundering reporting, as every corporate services provider must be
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PDPL
Client files handled under the UAE Personal Data Protection Law and kept on UAE servers
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Fixed
Fixed advisory fees, written into your plan before you pay anything
AED 10m
Professional indemnity insurance on every client file
What clients say
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I never once stood in a queue. Layla handed me a folder with my licence, our visas and a bank card, and asked if I wanted coffee.
Hana OkaforFounder, Saltbush Coffee
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Arjun told us which banks would say yes before we applied. He was right about all three, and he sat beside us in every meeting.
Sana QureshiCo-founder, Ferrous Labs
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Claire found medical appointments that fitted around the school run, for four of us, in our first week. Nothing was too small to ask.
Annika LindqvistGoogle review, May 2026
Meet your advisor
Forty-five minutes, in person or on a call. The first consultation is free.