The headline number is 30%. That is the share of affluent Britons who in the latest Saltus Wealth Index for September 2026 said they are considering leaving the United Kingdom. A year earlier it was 25%. The UAE has for the first time broken into Saltus's top three destinations and now sits alongside Spain and the United States.
This is not the Bloomberg story about a handful of billionaires. Saltus tracks a broader layer — British HNWIs with investable assets of £250,000 ($331,600) and above. In October 2026, UK trade publications and UAE business media are writing about these numbers in parallel. Here are the facts.
What the September 2026 Saltus Wealth Index actually says
The report was published in September 2026; fieldwork was conducted by Censuswide between 4 and 17 August 2026, polling 2,001 UK residents aged 18+ with investable assets of £250,000 or more. The headline findings:
- 30% of HNW Britons are considering a permanent move out of the UK; the figure a year earlier was 25% (+5 pp).
- Of these, 8% are actively looking at a move in the next 12 months, 22% may consider it in the future, and 70% plan to stay.
- Confidence in the UK economy stands at 56%, down from 66% a year earlier (−10 pp) and 59% six months ago.
- Top risk to wealth is inflation (45%), followed by tax changes (40%). 43% of respondents say they pay too much tax.
- The index itself is at 60.3, down from 61.3 in January 2026 — the third consecutive decline.
Where they are heading: top destinations in the survey
The destination breakdown is new in this cycle. For September 2026, the podium looks like this:
- Spain — 14%
- United States — 14%
- UAE — 10% (new entry to Saltus's top three)
- Australia — 8%, Portugal — 5%, Canada — 5%; 9% have not decided.
For the Emirates this is an important signal: so far, the country has featured mainly in reports about the ultra-rich (Henley & Partners, Bloomberg Billionaires Index). Saltus suggests interest is moving deeper — into Britain's mid-tier and upper-middle HNW segment, people with a quarter of a million pounds in assets and up.
Dealmakers' data: what UAE-based advisers are actually seeing
The National's 15 October 2026 article cites Sovereign PPG, a Dubai consultancy that relocates structures and families:
- UK enquiries have averaged about 19% of Sovereign PPG's total lead flow over the past four years. In September 2026, the share of UK enquiries directed at the UAE jumped to 20%.
- By jurisdiction of UK enquiries, the UAE leads with 16.2%, ahead of the Isle of Man (12.8%), Portugal (11.7%), Gibraltar (5.5%) and Malta (4.3%).
- UK-to-UAE enquiries break down as: 60% for company formation and business licensing, 21.9% for visas, residency and relocation, 13.9% for capital structures (trusts, foundations, holding entities).
- UK enquiries dipped from March to May on regional tensions and have recovered since June.
Simon Gordon of Sovereign PPG told The National: "Tax efficiency may start the conversation, but it is rarely enough to complete the move." The final decision usually hinges on a combination of legal clarity, family infrastructure and capital tooling.
Why now: three UK tax triggers
The survey landed just as several reforms started to bite:
- Abolition of the non-domiciled resident regime from April 2025 — the key blow to the main vehicle used by internationally mobile families.
- Inheritance tax has moved to a residency-based model: overseas assets fall under IHT after 10 of the last 20 tax years of UK residency.
- The FIG (foreign income and gains) relief for new residents applies only for the first four years of UK tax residency and only to those who were not UK-resident for the preceding 10 consecutive years.
Against this backdrop, CitizenX forecasts a net outflow of 8,600 millionaires from the UK in 2026 — the largest net loss of any country in the world this year.
What this means for business in the UAE
For UAE-based firms serving international clients — consulting, accounting, business setup, real estate, private banking — UK enquiries remain one of the most consistent inbound streams. For private clients, three practical routes stand out today: entrepreneurial relocation via the updated 2026 Golden Visa rules (now eligible for mortgaged and off-plan property from AED 2 million), tax optimisation through a UAE tax residency certificate (TRC), and capital restructuring via a Family Office in DIFC or ADGM under English common law.
Context: how this ties to the $160bn story
On 5 October 2026 we covered Bloomberg's analysis showing that over two years about $160 billion of combined wealth has left the UK or significantly loosened its ties with it — half of it before the April 2025 reforms. The Saltus survey shows the process has not stopped at billionaires: it has moved into a broader HNW layer. For the UAE this means that inbound UK demand in 2026–2027 will be wider in profile — not just individual families, but a systematic flow of entrepreneurs, law firm partners, senior executives and investors with £250,000+ in assets.
Based on the Saltus Wealth Index Report (September 2026), Censuswide fieldwork 4–17 August 2026, sample 2,001. UAE enquiry metrics from Sovereign PPG via The National, 15 October 2026.
