Dubai: Owners of untenanted office units in Dubai need not worry too much. A new report finds that multinationals rate the Middle East as offering optimum prospects for expansion in the next two years. India and Africa were also rated top choices in the survey conducted by the consultancy CBRE.

“Dubai remains a focal point in the Middle East and a destination of choice for global corporates looking to expand into this region or the lucrative African market,” Nick Maclean, managing director at CBRE Middle East, said.

The survey found that 30 per cent of corporates polled identified the Middle East as a potential destination for expansion in the next two years, a rise from 24 per cent in 2012. It shows quite clearly that global businesses are back to network expansions, which is always good news for commercial realty in emerging markets. In the UAE, there will be plenty they can choose from as a steady supply of newly completed stock hits the market at fairly regular levels.

In fact, with the improvement in demand, concerns of an oversupply in prime commercial space in Dubai have receded. There is limited Grade A office space available for the taking.

Business Bay’s office towers are absorbing significant demand; recent new stock releases at Clover Tower (from First Gulf Bank) and Bay Square (from Dubai Properties Group) had an overwhelming responses. Unit prices were at Dh1,000 a square foot and more.

“Now, these buyers are not just investors but local businesses who have been leasing space in Dubai for 10 or 20 years and now want their own freehold titles,” Niraj Masand, partner at the realty services firm Banke Middle East, said. “These acquisitions are by bona fide end users… it also mitigates doubts over whether office towers with multiple strata owners will have difficulty leasing.”

Less than half of European businesses polled in the CBRE findings identify weak economies as a concern, well down from the 70 per cent who shared the sentiment last year. In the poll, 48 per cent named India as a location for expansion in the next two years (double the figure from 2012 at 24 per cent), while China was mentioned by 42 per cent, down from 60 per cent in 2012. Africa is now identified by a third of respondents [34 per cent], versus 21 per cent in 2012.

“There is now a greater desire for increased alignment between real estate activities and broader business objectives with 72 per cent of companies surveyed noting this as an area for improvement,” CBRE said in a statement.