Strategic Advisory
Access, Alignment
and Deliverability
Helping international companies enter and scale in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf through strategic relationships and on-the-ground delivery.
01
About
Ascentis Advisory
At Ascentis Advisory, we specialise in helping businesses from the US, Europe and Asia establish a meaningful presence in the Gulf region, with a particular focus on Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Our mission is to actively support bilateral opportunities between these markets and the wider Middle East. Our work spans a wide range of sectors, but the goal remains the same: to connect our clients with the right people, opportunities, and partnerships across the region.
"With deep insight and trusted relationships across influential networks, from major institutions to prominent merchant families, we go beyond traditional consulting."
Whether advising institutional investors or supporting commercial ventures, we guide our clients in identifying and navigating opportunities that align with the region's transformative agendas, including Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 and broader Gulf strategic initiatives.
Our Story
Watch Ascentis Advisory
02 — The Reality
Entry is not about demand.
It is about access, alignment, and deliverability.
Saudi Arabia and the wider Gulf are large, well-capitalised markets with genuine demand across many sectors. Yet strong international businesses regularly struggle to convert interest into outcomes.
The reasons are consistent
Decision-making is relationship-led, not process-led
Authority is often indirect and difficult to identify
Many introductions lack the power to progress anything
Momentum is easily lost after the first visit
The real cost is not just time — it is misallocated capital, stalled initiatives, and reputational drag in a market that remembers missteps.
03 — Where Ascentis Fits
What Ascentis Advisory
does
Ascentis Advisory helps international companies enter and scale in country by acting as a strategic access and deliverability partner.
We sit between
International leadership teams with a product or service
And credible local counterparties with the authority to act
Our role is to ensure
You reach the right people, at the right level
Conversations are commercially aligned from the outset
Momentum is maintained beyond initial meetings
We are not advisors operating at arm's length.
We remain invested in your outcome.
04 — Our Process
How we work with our clients
We operate a highly bespoke, relationship-driven model built on trust, warm introductions, and long-standing networks. We partner only with clients where we believe we can deliver meaningful outcomes.
Discovery & Alignment
Every engagement begins with a confidential discovery call. We take time to deeply understand the company — its strategy, ambitions, leadership, culture, and long-term intent.
This stage ensures that:
- The client's goals are aligned with Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC
- The opportunity is commercially credible
- We believe we can deliver the required outcomes
We also complete our own discreet due diligence to ensure the partnership is the right fit for all parties.
Strategy Mapping & Engagement Plan
Once we fully understand the brief, we develop a clear, tailored strategy for entering Saudi Arabia or the wider Gulf.
We define:
- The market-entry narrative and positioning
- The partner and stakeholder thesis
- The initial introduction pathway
- A high-level timeline and milestones
We then agree this plan with the client so expectations, priorities, and desired outcomes are fully aligned.
Stakeholder Engagement & Access
With strategy agreed, we begin engaging relevant stakeholders on behalf of the client. This might include merchant families, private groups, institutional partners, vendors or advisors.
Our focus at this stage is to establish:
- Synergy between both sides
- Clear interest and intent
- A credible basis for in-person meetings
This is where our relationship capital becomes the client's advantage.
In-Country Meetings
Speed and Depth
Once early alignment is in place, we work with speed and depth to arrange in-country meetings in Saudi Arabia or the wider Gulf.
We:
- Set up senior-level introductions
- Brief both sides in advance
- Attend the meetings
- Help shape the agenda and discussion
- Provide cultural and commercial context
This reduces friction, supports clear communication, and increases the likelihood of successful outcomes.
Follow-Through & Ecosystem Building
We remain actively involved after the initial meetings. We do not simply advise — we act as your Gulf partner.
Our support can include:
- Follow-up and alignment discussions
- Guidance on negotiation dynamics
- Partner and stakeholder expectation management
- Vendor and supply-chain sourcing
- Further introductions to strengthen the in-market ecosystem
We build the relationships and structures required for long-term success in Saudi Arabia and the GCC.
Our role is to save clients time, money, and effort — by accelerating access, aligning strategy, and building the right in-market ecosystem.
Start the Conversation05 — Why Ascentis
Why clients choose
Ascentis Advisory
Access
Decades of trusted relationships with Saudi Arabian and Gulf merchant families, private groups, institutions, and industrial leaders. This access is built over time — it cannot be rushed, or replicated.
Trust & Reputation
Our reputation is on the line in every introduction we make. We prioritise long-term partnerships and alignment over short-term activity.
Local Market Intelligence
First-hand insight from inside the country — not reports. Clients benefit from real-time context, cultural understanding, and commercial realism.
Deliverability
Our involvement continues beyond introductions. We remain engaged to support follow-through, maintain momentum, and convert dialogue into outcomes.
06 — Leadership
The people behind
Ascentis Advisory
At chairman and board level, people invest in people. Our founders bring decades of direct relationships with Saudi merchant families, institutional investors, and industrial leaders.
Owen Dayson
Co-Founder
Owen brings more than 20 years of experience in private banking and wealth management, with a career spanning London, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia and the wider Gulf. During his time at HSBC Private Bank, Barclays Private Bank and EFG Private Bank, he was based in London and also lived in Hong Kong, where he covered South East Asia alongside his longstanding focus on Saudi Arabia and the Middle East.
Over the course of his career, Owen built trusted relationships with leading Saudi merchant families, family offices and senior business figures, giving him a deep understanding of the commercial and cultural dynamics that shape successful business in the Kingdom. He has advised on significant wealth management matters and complex cross-border strategic issues, combining international perspective with practical regional insight.
As co-founder of Ascentis, Owen now helps international businesses navigate the Saudi market with greater clarity, credibility and precision. He combines deep regional knowledge, trusted access and strong commercial judgement to help clients identify the right opportunities and build the relationships that matter.
JP Prescott
Co-Founder
JP brings more than 30 years of commercial experience in international business development with a track record spanning the U.K, the U.S, China, Saudi Arabia and the wider Gulf. Over the course of his career, he has worked across multiple sectors in complex deal environments building a strong reputation for identifying opportunities, structuring partnerships and helping businesses execute growth in new markets.
JP has worked extensively in property, construction, off-site manufacturing and strategic business development alongside many years spent brokering and developing international commercial relationships in the sports, media, tech and aviation industries. Through this work, he has built a significant network of senior contacts across these sectors giving him broad international reach and a practical understanding of how to move opportunities forward.
For the past several years, JP's focus has been centred on Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East, where he has helped facilitate bespoke joint venture partnerships and strategic alliances for clients looking to expand in the region. As co-founder of Ascentis, he brings strong commercial instinct, international deal experience and an execution focused approach that helps clients turn market entry discussions into practical outcomes.
Together, Owen and JP combine deep Saudi relationship capital, international commercial experience and practical execution capability, giving clients both trusted access and on-the-ground strategic support through Ascentis.
07 — Case Studies
Outcomes that speak
for themselves
Every engagement is confidential. The following case studies are anonymised but representative of the work we deliver — structured market entry, credible partner identification, and commercial outcomes that justify the investment.
US Construction Conglomerate Establishes Saudi Entity in Six Weeks
One of New York's largest construction companies wanted to establish a meaningful presence in Saudi Arabia to access the Kingdom's unprecedented infrastructure pipeline.
The Challenge
Saudi Arabia's giga-project pipeline was attracting global competition and the window for credible market entry was narrowing. The client required a JV partner, reliable local vendors, and a functioning in-country ecosystem — all within weeks, not months.
Outcome
Within six weeks, the client had secured a suitable JV partner, sourced key vendors, and established their initial in-country operating ecosystem. They now have a fully established entity in KSA and an active regional growth plan.
6 weeks
Time to Entity
Secured
JV Partner
Active in KSA
Status
Saudi Merchant Family Secures China Partnerships via Structured Access
A leading Saudi merchant family had a defined strategy to enter China with a specific list of target partners aligned to Saudi deployment. They needed access at the level that matters — engineered conversations with decision-makers, not introductions.
The Challenge
Previous approaches had produced courtesy meetings but no commercial traction. They needed chairman and founder-level access across multiple Chinese cities, with every meeting carrying commercial weight. No courtesy calls. No exploratory sessions.
Outcome
Access secured at the highest levels — Chairman, Founder, CEO, or APAC MD in every case. Two MOUs signed to date with selected vendors. Follow-on discussions ongoing involving legal and financial structuring on both sides.
2
MOUs Signed
C-Suite
Access Level
4
Cities Covered
UK Firm Secures Saudi Expansion via Merchant Family Introductions
A leading UK-based firm wanted to explore Vision 2030 opportunities and expand into Saudi Arabia. They had a strong proposition but no existing relationships or local market knowledge to convert interest into a credible entry strategy.
The Challenge
The Saudi market is relationship-led, not process-led. Without trusted introductions at the right level, even strong international businesses struggle to gain traction. The client needed access to influential merchant family offices — relationships that take years to build.
Outcome
The client was introduced to several influential merchant family offices and has now started their journey in KSA with a clear expansion pathway and long-term growth strategy. First introduction to active commercial dialogue within weeks.
Multiple
Family Offices
Established
Pathway
Weeks
Timeline
Common thread: each engagement required access, deep relationships, and a tailored ecosystem — the core of what we deliver.
Discuss Your Market Entry
08 — Bilateral Opportunities
Two-way value exchange,
not one-way market entry
While many clients engage Ascentis to enter Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, our role is not limited to inbound market entry.
We support genuine bilateral opportunities where value flows in both directions, connecting Gulf-based families, institutions, and operating groups with international markets, partners, and technologies.
Supporting Saudi and Gulf partners exploring opportunities abroad
Facilitating international engagement aligned to regional strategic priorities
Structuring cross-border relationships built on long-term alignment
A recent example includes supporting a Saudi merchant family's engagement in China, demonstrating our ability to operate credibly across markets when the opportunity warrants it.
Our focus is not geography, it is alignment, credibility, and outcomes on both sides of the relationship.
"We stay closely involved to ensure clarity, alignment, and progress."
09 — Contact
Start a
Conversation
Whether you are exploring Saudi Arabia and the Gulf for the first time or looking to deepen an existing presence, we welcome the opportunity to discuss how Ascentis Advisory can support your objectives.
Office
IFZA Business Park, Building A2
Dubai Silicon Oasis
Dubai, UAE