When a brand succeeds in Dubai, the question eventually comes: where next?
This piece was originally shared on LinkedIn in response to recurring conversations with founders and leadership teams around this topic.
I’m publishing it here as part of an ongoing body of thinking around restaurant strategy, market entry, and operational decision-making.
For many groups, the answer is London. It feels like the natural step - established market, global visibility, long-term credibility.
I’ve opened in both. The differences are bigger than most teams expect.
London punishes optimistic timelines.
In Dubai, once a site is secured, momentum can build quickly. In London, planning, approvals, construction, and hiring move at a different pace.
It’s not a problem if you plan for it. If you don’t, you burn cash and confidence before the doors even open.
London isn’t one market
It’s dozens of neighbourhoods with different demographics, spend profiles and occasion drivers.
I’ve seen groups fall in love with a postcode they recognise, rather than a location that fits their concept.
Your reputation doesn’t always travel
Success in the GCC doesn’t automatically unlock London.
You don’t have brand awareness.
You don’t have a queue of talent.
You don’t have supplier or landlord leverage.
Everything takes longer because you’re starting again - commercially and culturally.
That doesn’t mean the move shouldn’t be made. It means the plan needs to be clear.
The brands that work in London aren’t just well-designed and well-funded. They’re realistic about timelines, forensic about location, and deliberate about building a local network long before opening.
London rewards preparation and punishes assumption.
Since first sharing this, I’ve seen the same issue surface repeatedly — particularly with businesses entering new markets or scaling too quickly. The underlying challenge is rarely strategy itself, but how early decisions constrain execution later.