‘I quit UK for Dubai – one change would make me return home’ | World | News

A man who quit life in the United Kingdom for Dubai says he would return if one thing was changed. Ryan Howsam, a billionaire from Yorkshire, says he would return home in a “heartbeat”.

The insurance tycoon however says there would need to be tax breaks before he leaves the Gulf city. He believes it would bring “a whole heap” of wealthy people back to the UK amid the war in Iran. Ryan believes there should be a £5,000 flat fee for people returning to the UK from Dubai. He says it should be exchanged for a 10 percent reduction in capital gains tax from future business sales.

He claims to have written to ministers but hasn’t yet had a response. Speaking to The Telegraph, he said: “You’ve got families who are trying to make it [in Dubai], and these people are driving the economy. Some of them might be more reticent to go back to Dubai with a family on the back of the potential risks.

“One of the measures that the Government could and should have done is take that opportunity to signal a package of tax measures and they’d have had a whole heap of people back in a heartbeat.”

Ryan founded Starsure, which provided specialist travel insurance for people with pre-existing medical conditions, in 2004. Two decades later he sold a minority stake to a private equity firm, with the insurer now worth upwards of £800m.

He is thought to be worth around £1bn, reports the Telegraph. And while he now lives in Dubai, he says he hasn’t lived in Britain full time for over 25 years.

He claims his initial move wasn’t to do with tax, but admits he has benefited from the laws in Dubai. The city does not impose personal capital gains tax on individuals or income tax.

Ryan has however recently bought a Georgian townhouse in London, intending to turn it into a club for entrepreneurs. He says membership would be paid based on how much you could afford.

“We’ll be working from there, but as part of the club we will be introducing [members] to people of influence in the entrepreneur world on business, so they can learn,” he explained.

Ryan explains that he wasn’t in Dubai when the Iran war broke out. Instead he was at a golf tournament in Marbella.

And while he might not live in Britain, he does have properties in the UK, including a house on the grounds of Wentworth golf club. He also enjoys his wealth, owning a fleet of expensive cars, including a one-off Aston Martin Vanquish signed by Daniel Craig for Skyfall.