When registering a company in the UAE, before starting its registration, it is very important to decide what type of commercial spaces you require, where such space shall be located and which other points it shall fulfill.
Place of the company registration and the location of the commercial space is directly linked in the UAE means, if you need a commercial space in Dubai, you can not register your company in other emirate. And, if you have chosen a commercial space which is not in a free zone of Dubai, but on the main territory of the UAE, your company shall also be registered on the main territory of Dubai.
Even though there is a huge number of various commercial spaces in the UAE, due to high demand you may face a situation that the space you need is simply not available at the time you need it. For example, small storage / production facilities in majority of the free trade zones are extremely high in demand and you may need to wait a couple of month before a space you require becomes available.
Apart of the availability of the commercial space as such there are noticeable price differences - depending on the location and attached infrastructure. For example, the storage space in the Free Trade Zone Jebel Ali in Dubai would cost approximately double from the same unit, but in the free zone of Emirate of Sharjah.
In terms of retail spaces – to rent a space in the highly popular malls of the UAE is extremely difficult. There is a large waiting line and you need to encourage the management of the mall that your concept would be attractive for the mall visitors.
When talking on offices we can say that the situation is better, then with small retail or storage spaces. However, if you are searching for a small office, in some certain areas which are high in demand, you may also face shortage on the offer side.
It is important to note that it is not permitted to use residential units for commercial purposes, and each commercial unit in the UAE has some certain designation – office, retail or storage / industrial.
When choosing a commercial space it is also highly important to consider, apart of its location and costs, the availability of infrastructure and connections. For example, some certain industrial areas of the UAE may have shortage on high capability power lines or larger water volumes.
If you need to register a company with minimal costs, some free zones have the option of registering a company with so called service desk which is practically a virtual office. Such solution is noticeably less expensive that regular office, but is offered only by certain free trade zones and does not permit you to hire any employees. Once you decide to hire employees – you need to have the real office or other business facility – depending on the company’s activities.
