Knight Frank has appointed former Betterhomes CEO Louis Harding as Partner and Head of Residential, UAE, bringing 24 years of London and Dubai property experience to the role as the consultancy prepares to expand its sales, leasing and off-plan capabilities across the Emirates.
September 28, 2026 | Palak Kataria | UAE | Real Estate | 3 Min Read
Image Courtesy: Knight Frank
Knight Frank is strengthening its UAE residential business with a senior appointment that comes as the consultancy looks to capture a larger share of the country's expanding property market.
The global property consultancy has appointed Louis Harding as Partner, Head of Residential, UAE, giving him responsibility for the next phase of growth across its residential operations in the Emirates.
Harding's immediate mandate will include expanding Knight Frank's secondary sales, leasing and off-plan capabilities, growing the residential team and developing new opportunities for clients. The strategy also includes selectively building an exclusive projects offering and, over the longer term, expanding the residential platform beyond Dubai.
Harding brings 24 years of residential property experience across London and Dubai.
He spent almost 15 years at Foxtons, eventually becoming Area Director with responsibility for its largest division. He later joined Strutt & Parker as Head of London Residential Agency, working across London's prime and super-prime markets.
His most recent role was as CEO of Betterhomes in the UAE.
During his tenure, Betterhomes expanded into areas including development sales and consultancy, corporate and relocation services and build-to-lease developments. Harding also oversaw a company rebrand, introduced a new training platform and secured an affiliation with Leading Real Estate Companies of the World.
That combination of mature-market and UAE experience now feeds into Knight Frank's plans to broaden its residential presence.
Harding believes the UAE residential sector itself is entering a new stage.
While the market has historically been highly transactional, he expects its continued evolution to place greater emphasis on professionalism, specialist knowledge, long-term relationships and consistent service, particularly as clients increasingly hold property portfolios spanning multiple countries.
That international dimension is central to Knight Frank's strategy.
The consultancy sees opportunities to connect residential clients in the UAE with its wider commercial, investment and advisory businesses across the Middle East and international markets, particularly as globally mobile high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals diversify their property holdings.
James Lewis, Managing Director - Middle East & Africa at Knight Frank, said Harding's experience across both London and Dubai, combined with his track record of building teams, supports the firm's ambition to increase its profile in the residential sector.
For Knight Frank, the appointment is therefore about more than adding a new executive. It reflects a broader push to build a larger and more integrated UAE residential platform, connecting local market expertise with the firm's international private-client network.
Source: Knight Frank; supplied company announcement.
