Dubai's financial centre, DIFC, opened in 2004. Abu Dhabi's, ADGM (Abu Dhabi Global Market), began operating in 2015. That makes ADGM about ten years younger. Today it's growing faster: 49,027 people worked there at the end of June 2026, up 34% in a year (ADGM). DIFC's workforce grew 9% in 2025 (DIFC).
Different periods, and the two centres count their workforce differently, so it's not a race. But the direction is clear, and I've seen this story before.
First, the companies
ADGM sits on Al Maryah and Al Reem islands in Abu Dhabi. In the first half of 2026 alone, it issued 1,814 new licences and added 4,688 people to its workforce. It now has 13,974 active licences, and money managed in ADGM rose 54% in a year (ADGM gives the growth, not the total).
The names tell you who. Goldman Sachs opened in 2023 and UBS in 2025. Julius Baer followed in December 2025. Hedge funds came early: Brevan Howard in 2023, Marshall Wace in 2024, and Rokos this year. KKR, Bain Capital and Barings have opened, and Capital Group was licensed in September 2026. Skadden and Sullivan & Cromwell, two of New York's best-known law firms, are there too. Man Group has applied.
Across all of them, there are now 190 fund and asset managers in ADGM, up from 102 in 2023.
Then, the offices
The offices filled. Colliers reports that ADGM is at full occupancy with an active waiting list (Q2 2026). Across Abu Dhabi as a whole, offices are about 98% occupied (Knight Frank), and Cushman & Wakefield puts prime and Grade A occupancy at around 99%.
When good space is that scarce, rents move. Knight Frank estimates Grade A rents on Al Maryah Island rose about 82% in the year to June 2026. Supply is limited in the short term, as most of the new Grade A schemes are expected to complete during 2027 (Savills).
Abu Dhabi's office leasing deals fell 13% in the first half of 2026, compared with a year earlier (Knight Frank). With so little left to lease, I read that as fewer deals rather than less demand.
Now, the homes
This is the part I watch most closely.
In December 2025, Mubadala and Aldar announced an expansion of Al Maryah Island worth more than AED 60 billion. It will effectively double the island's Grade A office space and add more than 3,000 waterfront homes, with enabling works scheduled to begin in 2026 (Mubadala).
At the same time, several international hotel brands are building branded homes on the island, next to the offices. Some branded residences there are already complete, and most of the new ones are due over the next five years.
Branded homes already launched there include The Ritz-Carlton Residences and The St. Regis Residences, and more international brands are coming to the island.
Foreign buyers have noticed. Foreign investment in Abu Dhabi property in the first half of 2026 was more than in the whole of 2025 (Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre).
What DIFC taught us
Our portfolio has invested in Dubai since 2012, so I watched DIFC grow. The order was always the same. The companies came first. The offices filled. Then the people who worked there wanted to live close by, and the homes around the financial centre became some of the most sought after in the city.
Our portfolio started investing in Abu Dhabi after COVID, mostly in 2023. The value was comparable to Dubai at a better price, and the government was clearly pushing real estate and foreign investment. Honestly, Abu Dhabi still feels new to me. That's why I find it interesting.
In ADGM, the first two steps have happened. The companies came, and the offices are full. The homes usually come next.
First the companies. Then the offices. Then the homes.
What would I look at?
Who will live there, before the brand on the door. A home near ADGM will be rented or bought by the people who work there: fund managers, bankers, lawyers, family office teams. I'd look at what they want, which is a short walk to the office, good service and privacy. And I'd look at how many similar homes will be finished around the same time, because several towers will finish over the same few years.
Considering Abu Dhabi, or comparing it with Dubai? Apply for a free property portfolio review at bimallulla.com, or message me on Instagram or LinkedIn. I'll reply personally.
- DIFC opened in 2004: WAM (DIFC's 20th anniversary). ADGM began operating in 2015: Oxford Business Group.
- ADGM workforce 49,027 (+34%), 4,688 added in H1 2026, 1,814 new licences, 13,974 active, AUM +54%, 190 fund and asset managers: ADGM, H1 2026 results, 8 September 2026; The National; Gulf News.
- 102 fund and asset managers in 2023: ADGM's H1 2023 results, via Gulf Business, 15 September 2023.
- DIFC workforce up 9% in 2025, to 50,200: DIFC 2025 results, Dubai Media Office, 5 February 2026.
- Named firms and dates: each firm's or ADGM's announcement. Man Group's application: ADGM, 5 May 2026; Gulf News, May 2026.
- ADGM at full occupancy with a waiting list: Colliers, Q2 2026, via Zawya.
- Abu Dhabi offices about 98% occupied; leasing deals down 13% in H1 2026; Al Maryah Grade A rents up about 82%: Knight Frank, Abu Dhabi Residential and Office Market Review, Summer 2026 (Knight Frank, 22 July 2026; Enterprise AM, 23 July 2026).
- Prime and Grade A occupancy around 99%: Cushman & Wakefield, H1 2026.
- Most new Grade A schemes expected to complete during 2027: Savills, Abu Dhabi Q2 2026.
- Al Maryah expansion (more than AED 60 billion, doubling Grade A offices, more than 3,000 homes, enabling works in 2026): Mubadala, 8 December 2025.
- The Ritz-Carlton Residences launch: Khaleej Times, 2 October 2026. The St. Regis Residences launch: Khaleej Times, 7 May 2025.
- Completion timing of the branded residences: my own assessment, October 2026.
- Foreign investment in H1 2026 above all of 2025: Abu Dhabi Media Office / ADREC, 17 July 2026.
- "What DIFC taught us" and "What would I look at?" are my own experience and view, not market statistics.
General information, not financial advice.