Office economics7 min read
Serviced office or conventional lease? The honest maths
A conventional lease looks cheaper per square foot and often is not. Here is how the two actually compare once fit-out, DEWA, internet and staff time are in the column.
Compare a serviced office to a conventional lease on rent alone and the lease wins every time. Compare them on what you actually spend and the picture changes.
What the lease price excludes
A shell-and-core office needs fit-out, furniture, DEWA connection, a business internet line, a cleaning contract, reception cover and a security system. It also needs a cheque for a year, usually four post-dated ones, before you have earned a dirham from the space.
What it costs in time
The part nobody prices is the six to twelve weeks between signing and sitting down. For an established business that is an inconvenience. For a startup it is a quarter.
Where the lease genuinely wins
At scale and at stability. If you know you will need thirty desks for three years, a conventional lease is cheaper and you should take one. The break-even in Dubai tends to arrive somewhere around twenty-five to thirty desks, held steady.
Where the serviced office wins
When headcount is uncertain. The value is not the rent — it is the option to be a different size in ninety days without writing off a fit-out.
A fair way to decide
Write down the number of desks you are confident about in eighteen months. If you would bet the deposit on it, lease. If you would not, do not.
