A UK company can land in Dubai with a trade licence, an office in DIFC and twenty years of reputation at home, and still be a stranger to every business editor in the Gulf. A press release written for London, sent as it is, will not change that.
Bannerton is a PR consultancy working in the UK and the UAE, built for exactly this move. Sharon Bannerton set up the firm in 2010, now lives in Dubai, and leads every account herself. You deal with the same senior adviser in both markets, not a London agency handing your Gulf work to a partner you never meet. In 2025 she was named in the PRWeek Middle East Power Book.
What you get
- A Gulf story built on what you are already known for at home, with the local angle UAE editors look for
- Launch media relations with UAE business, trade and broadcast desks, from The National to Dubai Eye 103.8
- Your leadership profiled for a Gulf audience, in print, on air and on LinkedIn
- Launches timed so your senior people are in Dubai when the story runs
- Your expansion taken back to UK business and trade media, so clients, investors and future hires at home see the growth
Proof
Croud, the UK independent media, creative and data agency, made Dubai its hub for the Middle East. We built the story before its new EMEA chief executive landed, and in her first week she recorded an interview for Emirates News, went live in the Dubai Eye 103.8 Business Breakfast studio and was profiled by Communicate Online.
Gas Strategies, the London gas and LNG consultancy, is now heard in the Gulf as well as at home. Its Chairman and CEO, Pat Breen, has three signed opinion pieces in The National and has been interviewed on BBC News, Al Arabiya English, AnewZ and Monocle Radio.
In the UK, our launch for COLE'D with Gopuff produced 12 pieces of coverage in three days, including City AM, The Grocer and Yahoo Finance UK, and a BBC interview for Gopuff’s co-founder.
“We really appreciate how quickly you jumped in on this project and turned around some solid coverage for us with such little notice.” Senior Director of Communications, Gopuff
How we work
One market first, then the next, or both together if that suits your plans. Each market is planned and priced on its own.
Questions we are often asked
Will the same person run our UK and UAE work?
Yes. Sharon leads every Bannerton account, with account managers brought in where the work needs them. There is no hand off between two agencies.
Which media matter in the UAE for a UK company?
For business stories, the business desks of The National, Gulf News, Khaleej Times and Arabian Business, Al Arabiya English, the trade titles and Dubai Eye 103.8. We will tell you which of them your story suits, and which it does not.
Will our UK press release work in the UAE?
Rarely as it stands. Gulf editors want a local angle, a spokesperson in the market and access to the person in charge. Croud’s chief executive went on air in Dubai because the story was built around her being there that week.
Can you show us UK companies you have launched in the UAE?
Yes. Croud and Gas Strategies are two, and any client on our list is happy to confirm the work they did with us.
How is it priced?
As a monthly retainer, with each market planned and priced on its own, so you can start with one and add the other when you are ready.
Find us
Dubai: Bannerton L.L.C-FZ, Meydan Grandstand, 6th floor, Meydan Road, Nad Al Sheba, Dubai. +971 54 343 7673.
UK: +44 20 3642 1221.
Dublin: Bannerton, 6-9 Trinity Street, Dublin 2, D02 EY47. +353 1 612 1428.
See also: Energy and LNG communications, Strategic communications in the UAE and Ireland to the UAE.