Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

I’m Adam Thornhill, an entrepreneur and investor based in Dubai, originally from Liverpool, England. This series looks back at the early stages of my career – the businesses I built, the mistakes I made, and what those experiences taught me about building something that lasts. I hope you find these lessons useful. I’d love to connect with you if so.

Getting Into Property in the UAE

At the end of 2023, I was looking for office space for Source Travel, a UK-based online travel agency and consultancy I founded with my friend, Heather Fletcher.

Most of the team I had in the UAE were working remotely, and we were meeting a couple of times a week at my place to catch up and run through what needed to be done. This worked for a while, but it wasn’t an arrangement you could build a business around. I realised that if we were going to grow, we needed a proper office.

When I started looking at commercial property in Dubai, it didn’t take long for me to realise that prices were far beyond what I could justify. The market had been moving steadily since the post-COVID recovery, and anything decent was just far too expensive.

So rather than forcing something that didn’t make sense financially, I started looking further afield. This is what led me to Ajman, the smallest of the seven United Arab Emirates, with quiet beaches, a lovely relaxed culture, and a much lower cost of living than Dubai.

I came across a commercial unit that stood out straight away. It was a bank repossession being sold at a distressed price, and on paper it looked like an opportunity. The problem was, I didn’t have the capital available at the time, and the property wasn’t eligible for a loan.

At the time, I was still running taxis through AJT Hire, so I made the decision to sell a number of vehicles to raise the funds. My family in the UK held power of attorney for me, which meant we could act fast and get everything in place quickly. 

Not long after that, I had the keys.

What Buying My First Commercial Unit Was Actually Like

The reality of buying my first commercial property was very different from how it sounds on paper. The place smelled strongly of cigarettes and mould, the ceilings were damaged, and everything looked dark and outdated. It wasn’t something you could just clean up and move into. It needed proper work. Work I was going to have to do myself. 

Ever the self-starter, I got to work. Ceilings came down, old furniture was cleared out, and the space was soon cleared and ready for refurbishment. At that stage, it was just about getting it back to a blank canvas.

But once the initial work was done, I knew I needed help to get it finished properly. I reached out to a few British expat groups on Facebook to find tradies, and a couple of lads from the Wirral got in touch. 

Since we hailed from the same area, there was a natural level of trust there, so we agreed on a price. I sent a deposit from my UK account, and that was the last I ever heard from them. 

This was a costly mistake, a frustrating setback when you’re trying to get things moving. But I could either dwell on it or move on – the work still needed doing.

So I pushed on. I took on a lot of the work myself and brought in locals where needed. It wasn’t the most efficient way to do it, but it got the job done. Slowly, the unit started to come together, and eventually it reached the point where it was usable as a proper office.

The problem was that the whole refurbishment took months, and during that time, things had really shifted with Source Travel. Staff numbers had dwindled, and I had already started thinking about stepping away from the business. The original reason for buying the unit just didn’t seem necessary anymore.

Why I Decided to Sell After the Refurb, and What Happened Next…

With the refurbishment complete, I decided to put the office on the market. What happened next really surprised me.

Between the price I had bought it for and the work that had gone into it, the value of the unit had increased by over 50%. On top of this, I had sourced high-quality second-hand office furniture, which meant I could sell it as a fully furnished space and increase the overall value even more. This was the point where the property market caught my attention.

After that, I started looking at property differently.

Instead of focusing purely on old, abandoned properties that needed lots of work, I began researching off-plan developments across the UAE, both residential and commercial. I spent time understanding which areas had the strongest growth potential and how to structure deals in a way that didn’t rely on me being involved in every stage.

This venture became less about doing everything myself and more about putting the right structure in place to create a viable business. This crucial change in perspective led to L5 Properties, my Dubai-based property investment company. 

The Business Lessons I Took from Buying My First Office

Buying that first unit in Ajman wasn’t a long-term plan. It started as a practical decision and turned into something else.

Looking back, the deal worked out, but the way I approached it wasn’t ideal.

Trying to manage the project while also doing a large part of the work myself stretched my time more than it should have. It pulled focus away from other things and made the whole process slower than it needed to be.

It was one of those situations where you get a good outcome, but you still know you wouldn’t do it the same way again.

All of this showed me that there was real opportunity in the UAE property market, but it also highlighted the importance of how I approach that opportunity.

Moving Forward

Since launching L5 Properties, my focus has been on approaching real estate in a more structured way, building something that works over time rather than relying on one-off projects.

The Ajman deal was the starting point, but who knows where it will lead?

If you’re inspired by my story, please get in touch – I’d love to hear from you.