The severe Middle East office shortage, combined with a booming regional economy, has led many large, multinational companies to look at alternatives to conventional office space, with many finding that serviced offices are an ideal solution which make economic sense irrespective of the current limited availability of conventional offices, say industry sources.
“All companies moving in to Dubai are having problems with office space. We found that utilizing the offices of REGUS at the Airport Free Zone gave us an immediate solution to our needs – instant availability, pleasant offices and furnishings, and excellent communication options – telephony, broadband access, video conferencing, and excellent meeting rooms . We came for 6 months but will stay for 18 months,” said Malcolm Knight, VP & GM, Africa, Middle East and Latin America, GE Healthcare Bio Sciences.
Growth of the outsourced office business is set to grow significantly across the region, according to recent research, and this claim is supported by major industry players.
“Regus Middle East is growing rapidly, but not only because of office shortages. Companies want to move fast without sacrificing service level standards,” said Mike Hynes, Regional General Manager, Regus, the global market leader in outsourced offices.
“In places like Kuwait City, Dubai, and Doha, we are actively working to house our growing list of clients – such as Nokia, Flour, Intel, and others – who are eager to expand their operations across the region, and many are in discussions with us to stay much longer than they might have originally intended. Serviced offices are not only quick and easy to move into, they offer a great working environment for professionals,” added Hynes.
Primary occupants of the Regus regional business centres include technology start-ups, pharmaceutical and energy companies, as well as consultants in a variety of fields such as engineering, finance and real estate.
Regus will have 48 regional centres by the end of 2007, with 18 in service by the end of 2005.
