UAE: Abu Dhabi’s Financial Hub ADGM Is Full, Yet Empty Desks Are Aplenty - Bloomberg
Office occupancy rates in Abu Dhabi’s financial hub have hit 97%, reflecting a city in the midst of a boom. But step inside some of the gleaming towers on Al Maryah Island, and you’ll still find quiet hallways and rows of empty desks.
The contradiction stems from the emirate’s push to compete with business hubs in neighboring Dubai and globally. As part of that effort, firms were encouraged to establish a local presence and relocate more staff. The proximity to Abu Dhabi’s influential wealth funds, which control nearly $2 trillion, added to the appeal. The campaign has drawn top banks and private markets firms, earning ADGM, the financial center, a reputation as the Gulf’s “hedge fund island.”
Under ADGM rules, firms must maintain a physical office and employ at least one United Arab Emirates-based staffer, even if most of the team is elsewhere. Some companies comply with the bare minimum: a single desk, a local hire and little day-to-day use of the space.
The result is a striking imbalance. While some firms occupy expansive floors and are packed with growing teams, others maintain a token presence — leaving parts of even fully leased buildings looking half-empty.
Office space is becoming a pressing issue as some of ADGM’s more active firms struggle to secure adequate facilities. When they do, rents can reach 2,900 dirhams ($790) per square meter annually, up from around 2,600 dirhams last year, according to Savills.
The ADGM monitors firms’ local presence through on-site visits and internal reporting, but it stops short of mandating how many staff must physically work in the office, a spokesperson said via email.
Staffing levels are left to the discretion of each firm, depending on size and scope of operations, and ADGM allows for flexible and remote work practices. “Firms are securing office space as part of their long-term plans, reflecting a seriousness to base their operations in Abu Dhabi,” the spokesperson said.
Across the hub’s four main towers — Al Khatem, Al Sila, Al Sarab and Al Maqam — some offices show limited activity, while others bustle with meetings and foot traffic. The ADGM Authorities Building, home to the regulator itself, sees steady day-to-day attendance. Across the road at Al Maryah Tower, which houses Lunate — Abu Dhabi’s $110 billion alternative investment manager — floors are busy and demand for parking spaces is rising.
Bhaskar Dasgupta, chairman of the Middle East and India boards at Apex Group, said firms across ADGM are scrambling for space as teams expand, reconfiguring layouts, subleasing from other companies and turning to co-working hubs for temporary desks. At Apex, “we’ve been retrofitting our office to fit more people in,” he said. “We hope to move into a bigger office next year, but it’s competitive to secure new office space on Al Maryah Island.”
Those challenges come as staffing is up 17% year-on-year, bringing the workforce to 29,000. As of the first quarter of 2025, more than 2,700 entities were registered in ADGM including 144 asset and fund managers. That momentum reflects a broader boom across the capital, where the population grew 7.5% last year to 4.14 million.
Still, in a sign the emirate wants employees to live and work locally, authorities in February reinstated a rule requiring foreign nationals to have an Abu Dhabi-registered tenancy contract to apply for or renew dependent visas.
Abu Dhabi is racing to meet rising demand. Construction is underway on a two-tower complex that will add 98,000 square meters of premium office space on Al Maryah Island. That follows a 2023 decision to extend ADGM’s jurisdiction to neighboring Al Reem Island, expanding its footprint 10-fold.
The emirate is also adding flexibility. Hub71, a government-backed startup campus, offers early-stage firms flexi-desk options that meet ADGM’s physical presence rules without requiring a full office lease. “As well as traditional office space, ADGM also offers flexible working spaces for smaller firms across 15 business centres on Al Maryah Island and at Hub71,” the hub’s spokesperson said.
Abu Dhabi isn’t alone. With occupancy rates in its financial hub reaching 98%, Dubai is building three new towers in its financial hub and retrofitting another space for hedge fund startups.
The Dubai International Financial Centre has responded to mounting space constraints by introducing a more flexible regulatory regime, according to Devika Raveendran, a lawyer and founder of family office advisory firm DR Partners. “There’s now the DIFC Funds Centre that allows firms to opt for a flexi-desk rather than a full-fledged office.”
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s main finance district is looking to raise about $700 million from equity investors to fund further development of its Riyadh real estate complex, Bloomberg News has reported.
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