Buying a restaurant or café in Dubai.
Food and beverage is the most traded category of small business in Dubai and the one where buyers lose money most often. The reason is structural: the licence, the lease and the fit-out are three separate assets with three separate transfer processes, and a deal can survive due diligence on all three and still fail because the landlord refuses consent.
Sector-specific due diligence
Landlord consent to assignment — obtain it in writing before anything else. Municipality and food safety approvals and whether they transfer. Actual footfall versus reported, verified across at least six months of POS data. Fit-out ownership: what belongs to the business and what reverts to the landlord. Staff visas and end-of-service liabilities.
The trap in this sector
Revenue quoted for the best three months of the year. Ask for twelve months of POS exports, not a summary.
Timeline and cost
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Typical price range | AED 300,000 – 3,000,000 |
| Valuation basis | 1.5–3× annual profit |
| Search and initial review | 2–8 weeks |
| Due diligence | 3–6 weeks |
| Negotiation and documentation | 2–4 weeks |
| Licence transfer or reissue | 2–6 weeks |
| Total, realistic | 2–6 months |
What I do
- Establish what you are actually looking for, in economic terms rather than sector labels
- Source opportunities, including businesses whose owners have not formally listed
- Verify the counterparty before any substantive discussion
- Coordinate due diligence across corporate, financial, operational and compliance workstreams
- Establish early whether the licence transfers, and structure the deal around the answer
- Manage the transaction to completion: documentation, licence, banking, visas, handover
Retainer from AED 15,000/month
Credited against the success fee. Success fee 10% on transactions up to AED 2M (minimum AED 75,000), Double Lehman scale above. Legal, audit and government costs are separate.
Common questions
How much does a restaurant or café cost in Dubai?
Typically AED 300,000 – 3,000,000, valued at around 1.5–3× annual profit. The range is wide because the same revenue is worth very different amounts depending on how transferable it is — contracted, recurring income commands a materially higher multiple than income tied to the departing owner.
What should I check before buying a restaurant or café?
Landlord consent to assignment — obtain it in writing before anything else. Municipality and food safety approvals and whether they transfer. Actual footfall versus reported, verified across at least six months of POS data. Fit-out ownership: what belongs to the business and what reverts to the landlord. Staff visas and end-of-service liabilities.
Does the trade licence transfer with the business?
Not always. Some free zones permit direct share transfer; others require the licence to be reissued or a new entity formed and assets migrated. The answer depends on the zone, the activity and sometimes the specific case — establish it before terms are agreed, not after.
What happens to the staff visas?
Employee residency is sponsored by the company, so a share transfer usually preserves it while a new-entity structure does not — in which case every visa is reissued at cost and on the immigration authority's timeline. For a business with staff this is a material line item sellers rarely raise.
How long does the purchase take?
Two to six months from serious interest to completion. Due diligence takes three to six weeks if the seller's records are in order, considerably longer if not. Licence transfer, banking and visa reassignment add four to eight weeks after commercial terms are agreed.
What is the most common trap in this sector?
Revenue quoted for the best three months of the year. Ask for twelve months of POS exports, not a summary.
Reviewed by Denis Chernikov, Private Client Advisor, nine years in the UAE private client sector.
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