Office space demand in Dubai surged by nearly a quarter in the first half of 2023, an “unprecedented spike” led by an increased preference for grade A locations, a new study has shown.
Demand in the six months to the end of June rose 23 per cent annually to almost 54,000 square metres, underpinning the robust demand for commercial office space, consultancy Knight Frank said in its market update on Thursday.
Interest in Grade A developments, in particular, continued to grow during the period, as occupiers – both local and international – increasingly gravitate towards office spaces that are efficiently managed, well maintained and accredited to environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards, the London-based firm said.
Tenants also believe that high quality offices contribute to talent attraction and retention, Knight Frank said, which would be a key selling point for companies in a competitive workforce market.
This has led to a strong performance in average office lease rates in the 25 submarkets Knight Frank monitors, it said.
However, this is a challenge for developers as they try to keep up with continuously rising demand, said Faisal Durrani, partner and head of Middle East research at Knight Frank.
“Dubai’s office market continues to experience a severe shortage of supply, with just 3 million square feet [278,700 square metres] of space due to be completed between now and 2026, the vast majority of which is already spoken for. This is against a backdrop of 580,000 square feet [54,000 square metres] of requirements,” he wrote in the report.
“With no supply relief in sight and economic growth being sustained … the only way rents are likely to continue trending is upwards. Still, while occupiers may be getting a relatively ‘good deal’ compared to historic rates, the shortage of options is likely to be even more frustrating.”
Business activity in Dubai's non-oil private sector economy maintained a robust speed of expansion in June, improving at the quickest pace in three years, as new orders rose sharply despite inflationary pressures.
The emirate's economy, which last year rebounded strongly from the coronavirus-induced slowdown, has carried the growth momentum into this year, supported by the resurgent travel and tourism sector and its rapidly improving property market.
The Dubai International Financial Centre remained the city’s best-performing location, driven by Brookfield Place, where rents remain well above the wider DIFC average of around Dh2,799 per square metre.
The 92,900-square-foot Brookfield Place is the among the world’s 20 largest Leed Platinum rated buildings and was also the first building in the Middle East to achieve a Platinum WiredScore rating, which assesses the quality and resilience of digital infrastructure in buildings.
Elsewhere in the emirate, Business Bay, the Trade Centre District and Dubai Marina have posted the biggest rise in office rents in the past 12 months, recording 69 per cent, 54 per cent and 54 per cent, respectively.
Average office lease rates in Business Bay were at about Dh1,894 per square metre, making it approximately 22 per cent more affordable compared to the adjacent Downtown area with Dh2,422 per square foot. Rents in the Trade Centre District and Dubai Marina stood at an average of Dh2,077 and Dh2,153 per square metre, respectively.
Office rents in Business Bay were also the biggest climber from the first quarter of 2020 – the last three-month period before the Covid-19 pandemic took hold – through the second quarter of 2023, registering an increase of about 130 per cent, the Knight Frank report said.
The Trade Centre District, Jebel Ali Free Zone, Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Downtown Jebel Ali, Barsha Heights, Downtown Dubai and Dubai Marina all registered increases above 40 per cent to lead all areas monitored by Knight Frank.
Growing preferences for ESG-accredited buildings in Dubai imply that the emirate is ahead of the curve, given that ESG considerations are still a relatively nascent concept across the Middle East.
“There are indications that the market is responding to the global green agenda. These indications are evident through a growing emphasis on sustainability, energy efficiency and environmentally responsible practices in the construction, operation and management of properties,” Mr Durrani said.
“Developers integrating ESG practices appear to be benefiting financially from the growing demand for ESG-rated office buildings. Global blue chip businesses, with green mandates, are the principal driver behind this and are willing to pay premiums to occupy such office buildings.”
The gravitation towards more advanced buildings are also proving to be a challenge for older, more secondary office stock, as lease rates in older buildings are still trailing pre-Covid levels irrespective of location, Knight Frank said.
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Prop idols
Girls full-contact rugby may be in its infancy in the Middle East, but there are already a number of role models for players to look up to.
Sophie Shams (Dubai Exiles mini, England sevens international)
An Emirati student who is blazing a trail in rugby. She first learnt the game at Dubai Exiles and captained her JESS Primary school team. After going to study geophysics at university in the UK, she scored a sensational try in a cup final at Twickenham. She has played for England sevens, and is now contracted to top Premiership club Saracens.
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Seren Gough-Walters (Sharjah Wanderers mini, Wales rugby league international)
Few players anywhere will have taken a more circuitous route to playing rugby on Sky Sports. Gough-Walters was born in Al Wasl Hospital in Dubai, raised in Sharjah, did not take up rugby seriously till she was 15, has a master’s in global governance and ethics, and once worked as an immigration officer at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi. In the summer of 2021 she played for Wales against England in rugby league, in a match that was broadcast live on TV.
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Erin King (Dubai Hurricanes mini, Ireland sevens international)
Aged five, Australia-born King went to Dubai Hurricanes training at The Sevens with her brothers. She immediately struck up a deep affection for rugby. She returned to the city at the end of last year to play at the Dubai Rugby Sevens in the colours of Ireland in the Women’s World Series tournament on Pitch 1.
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
