Dubai's best offices are almost full. Who is in them?

Only 0.7% of Dubai's prime office space was empty in the first quarter of 2026 (JLL). For a city of Dubai's size, that's close to full. Savills, Knight Frank and CBRE all describe the best buildings as tight, and Savills expects much of the new space to be leased before it's finished.

How full are Dubai's best offices?

Very full. The clearest example is DIFC Square, the newest offices in the Dubai International Financial Centre. It's three connected buildings with 600,000 sq ft of space, built in 24 months. It was fully pre-leased before its handover began in March 2026 (DIFC).

That's the number I'd show anyone who asks me whether Dubai's office demand is real. Companies don't sign leases on a building that isn't finished unless they're sure they need the space.

Who is taking the space?

Mostly finance, and law firms too. The names are more useful than the percentages, so here they are, each in the words the firms and DIFC have used.

Banks and ratings agencies. Deutsche Bank, Moody's and Bank of Singapore are among the firms taking space in DIFC Square. These aren't new arrivals. Deutsche Bank has been licensed in DIFC since 2005, and Moody's for years. They chose the newest building in the centre, which tells you something too.

Hedge funds and asset managers. Citadel and J.P. Morgan International Advisors are among the firms that have established regional offices in DIFC since the first half of 2025. In December 2025, DIFC passed 100 hedge fund managers, double the number in early 2024, and 81 of them manage more than USD 1 billion each (DIFC).

Law firms. Three Crowns, the international arbitration firm, opened an office in DIFC in January 2026. Mishcon de Reya, a London firm many private clients will know, opened its Dubai office at One Za'abeel in June 2026.

Behind the names sits the count. At the end of June 2026, DIFC had 10,018 companies, the first time it has passed 10,000, including 592 wealth and asset managers and 327 banks and capital-markets firms (DIFC).

Where are they coming from? In my own work, most of the finance firms I see arriving are from London and New York, and firms from other continents are coming too. That's my view, not a statistic.

Why do the best buildings fill first?

A global bank or fund doesn't choose an office the way a small company does. When it opens in Dubai, it looks for the same standard of building it has in London or New York, in a regulated financial centre, with room for the team it plans to have in a few years rather than the team it has today. There are only a handful of buildings like that. So they fill first, and they fill early.

That's also why I don't read Dubai's office market as one market. The citywide figures include older and smaller buildings, which behave differently. The story in this article is about the top of the market only.

Is more prime space coming?

Yes, but mostly later. DIFC's expansion, Zabeel District, was launched in January 2026 with an estimated value of more than AED 100 billion and 17.7 million sq ft of floor area. It's expected to open to the public in 2030 (Dubai Media Office).

Zabeel District is planned all the way to 2040, when the masterplan is due to be complete. Demand is leading. The new offices are being built to meet it.

What does this mean for you as an investor?

When banks, funds and law firms open in a city, their people come with them, and they need homes near the office. That's the part of this story I watch most closely, because it's where the residential demand comes from. I'll look at it next, starting with Abu Dhabi, where the same thing is happening about ten years later.

Considering Dubai or Abu Dhabi, or reviewing a property you already own? Apply for a free property portfolio review at bimallulla.com, or message me on Instagram or LinkedIn. I'll reply personally.

General information, not financial advice.