R-Serviced Offices plans IPO

The serviced office provider R-Serviced Offices is looking at launching an initial public offering in 2013-2014 once the markets have stabilized.

Speaking at a function in Dubai on Tuesday, R-Offices Chief Executive Ian Lloyd, said the company aims to go public in 2013-2014 and will list one of the local stock markets.

The company is looking at local acquisitions is currently negotiating a couple of deals, Lloyd said, adding that the group will also eventually expand to neighbouring Gulf states.

R-Serviced Offices increased its presence in the UAE by opening a second premium location in Crystal Towers in Business Bay on Tuesday.

Sheikh Ahmed Mohammed Zayed Saqer Al Nahyan, Managing Director, Reef Real Estate Investments and Chairman of R-Serviced Offices, said: “Few commercial addresses carry more prestige than Crystal Towers. We are very optimistic about these new additions to our portfolio of offices in the Middle East. As an Emirati owned and founded business, it reflects our continued drive and commitment to the region."

He also revealed that most of the demand for serviced offices is coming from the free zone areas as companies prefer locations in free zones.

Ahmed said: “We are expanding because we see the right opportunities. The market outlook is much more positive now. Dubai is still viewed as an important and strategic location for businesses to have a presence. With the city becoming affordable, this is a good time for foreign companies to establish themselves within Dubai. In fact, there are a growing number of companies embracing serviced offices. We have also witnessed considerable movement of offices within the city from conventional office spaces to serviced offices due to better location, value for money, quality and convenience.”

With tenants competing for space, industry experts point out, “it would not be too long before rents, tempered by the recession, would rise and incentives for tenants, a staple of the office market since the credit crisis of 2007, would recede significantly.”

Lloyd said: “R Team is extremely proud to announce the launch of our second operation in Dubai. It is all about working smarter through leveraged office design that both capitalizes on the newest innovations and serves the emerging needs of the corporate world. This premier location will enable us to meet the customer demand, for flexible, high performance, cost effective, quality Serviced Office space in the thriving Business Bay area”.

Ready-to-use offices that constitute about 50% of the total number of businesses in Dubai.

R-Serviced Offices currently provides office space to some of the world’s leading oil and gas corporations and blue chip entities such as LUK Oil, OMV, Weatherford’s to name but a few.

Lloyd said “We received an enthusiastic response from the international business community to our first location at Reef Tower in the DMCC Free-Zone and expect the same positive reaction to Business Bay. We launched R Offices in August 2009 with one floor of serviced office space. Within 18 months, we quickly grew to 13 floors spanning approximately 150,000 Sq ft.”

Like all R-Serviced Offices suites, each office at Crystal Towers comes fully furnished and at a competitive monthly rate. The offices can be rented on a short or long-term basis with flexible lease terms and pricing options.

Approximately 15 million sq ft of office space was added to the market in 2010, taking total office space in Dubai to 48 million sq ft. For 2011 an addition of 12 million sq ft of commercial space was projected taking vacancy levels to approximately 40 per cent. The market has displayed remarkable resilience despite new supply.

Sheikh Ahmed said, “Much of the new supply has been absorbed without any significant detrimental impact on leasing rates. Dubai’s future office supply is expected to be 30 per cent less than what was anticipated from 2011 to 2013 as a result of the government’s  policy to control oversupply.”

He continued, “These are truly exciting times in the expansion and development of R Offices as we plan to grow the business further in Q1 2012 with the opening of a third business centre in Abu Dhabi at Al Bateen Executive Airport in partnership with Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC).” R-Serviced Offices is eyeing several other opportunities with Adac.

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