A Scottish recruitment drive has helped Calum White establish his estate agency as one of Dubai’s most successful brokerages.
The Edinburgh-born entrepreneur set up White & Co Real Estate in January 2021, seven years after first moving to the United Arab Emirates, after becoming disillusioned with life in the UK.
Formerly with McEwan Fraser Legal in Edinburgh, White opened the doors to a 16,000 sq ft office in Control Tower, Motor City, at the beginning of last year.
There were initially eight employees running the start-up, which turned over £4m in its first year, but 18 months later and 29-year-old now has over 130 staff, half of whom are Scottish.
“There is something about the Scots, a bit like folk from Liverpool and Manchester to be fair, who have a certain understanding of hard work, know how to conduct themselves and how to respect other people’s cultures,” he said.
“I wanted to encourage people aged between 20 and 30 to come out here and try the Dubai life.
“The opportunity for people here is huge, particularly in real estate, it’s a performance-based industry which I love, there is uncapped commission so people can make genuinely life-changing money.
“We generated £4m of business in our first year and are already beating that this year,“ he added.
Operating in both the residential and commercial markets, White & Co Real was recently named Dubai's second-highest lead-generating agency for buying, selling and renting.
The firm also recently won the title of agency of the month, defeating 1100 brokerages in the process. One of their brokers was chosen as the agent of the month, a significant honour, given that Dubai has 6,000 agents.
The firm has sold properties generally ranging in price from £400,000 to £1.1m, with the most costly selling for £17m.
“I have always worked hard and wanted to make money,” said White, who spent two years with McEwan Fraser Legal before the opportunity came to move to Dubai in 2014.
“I joined McEwan Fraser Legal in 2012, with my first role there scheduling property viewings for clients, I eventually worked my way up to managing up to 120 homes, and I loved it before I got the chance to move to Dubai.
“Although I'm delighted at where we are now and just how far we've come, I'm always looking to achieve more.
“The fact I took a 16,000 sq ft office on a five-year lease in the middle of the pandemic shows my belief in what I was doing was justified.“
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