DKK Partners, a London based startup which specializes in emerging markets and foreign exchange liquidity, has announced that it has launched a Dubai operation to grow the business in the Middle East.

The news comes following what the company called 60% growth in 2022, surpassing £100 million in revenue, up from £63 million the previous year. We would note that the company seems to include pass-through activity in Revenue, such that DKK’s £63.9 million in “Revenue” came alongside £63.1 million in Cost of Sales, with Net Profit of £365,000. The company still files its financial statements under the Audit Exemption for Small Companies. As of January 31, 2022 DKK had £516,999 in Cash and Shareholders Equity of £355,199.

The office, based in the Dubai World Trade Centre, will act as a central hub for DKK in the region granting greater access to the Middle East, Africa and Asia trade corridors. The expansion will be led by senior associates within the region all with Tier 1 banking experience in forex, trade finance and structured products.

The day-to-day team currently consists of three full time staff, led by Asia Salvatore, with DKK stating that it has ambitious plans to hire and treble its headcount this year.

DKK’s Dubai operation has obtained its World Trade Centre Free Zone license and has plans to bolster with virtual assets licenses through VARA (virtual assets regulatory authority) in the near future.

Asia Salvatore, Head of Sales for DKK in Dubai, said:

“We are excited to launch in Dubai and bring our mastery of FX to empower businesses and financial institutions who have previously lacked access to high quality solutions. Dubai is a land of opportunities and DKK is perfectly poised to get out there and make a splash in the market.”

Khalid Talukder, Co-Founder & CEO of DKK Partners, commented:

“DKK has achieved fantastic growth over the past year and launching in Dubai is a natural step to continue our expansion and evolution as a frontier markets currency trading house. We have a passionate team with extensive knowledge of the local market ready to hit the ground running and deliver high quality FX services to the region.”

DKK was founded in 2020 by capital markets specialist Khalid Talukder, formally of UBS, Citi and Deutsche Bank, and Dominic Duru of RBS and Citi, enabling businesses to manage currency risks in frontier markets. Key services including virtual IBAN accounts, allowing customers to access new currencies and territories, as well as EM liquidity to prove direct access to real-time pricing and execution across frontier, emerging and G10 market currencies.