Sorry, but Dubai experience really is of no use in London

Failed in Dubai, try London? Unfortunately not. Recruiters say that any Dubai financiers who want to relocate in the wake of the emirate's woes will have trouble doing so.

"We've already had a few CVs from both Dubai and Dubai sovereign wealth funds in London," says a director at one London recruitment firm, "but we really can't do anything with them. It's not particular to Dubai, it's just that the UK market is very selective right now."

Another headhunter is harsher: "A lot of tier one banks sent their tier two people to Dubai a few years' ago. You're generally seen as fairly subpar if you were sent over there in the first place."

In any case, it's questionable whether recent events are going to prompt an exodus of Dubai financial services professionals - the expat population there is already much diminished.

According to the Times, Dubai's expat population fell 17% during the financial crisis, spurring stories of deserted Porsches as former property bankers and real estate agents went back home. Various investment banks pruned staff at the start of this year.

Nowadays, a partner at one search firm estimates that there are fewer than 1,000 investment banking and capital markets professionals across the whole Middle East region.

Much of the key work with sovereign wealth funds and the oil and gas sector is conducted out of London, by big names like Jonathan Moulds, president EMEA at BofA.

Meanwhile, Dubai headhunters remain bizarrely optimistic that there will still be lots of hiring in the region next year. "Up until now, most banks were thinking of expanding," says one. "We still think hiring's picking up," says another. "In 2010 there will be more need for salespeople and traders. This won't change anything - everyone here's been aware of Dubai World's issues for sometime."