An office is a different investment from an apartment, with different buyers, different tenants and a different tax. This is Part 9 of my guide to The WOW Tower: what its offices are, what a mainland address is worth now that free-zone companies can also work on the mainland, how old and how expensive the office stock in Dubai Silicon Oasis is, and how an office's yield compares with an apartment's.
The short version
- 300 business suites on floors 1 to 15, from 1,012 to 4,891 sq ft, delivered shell and core. The smallest are sold out, so the suites still available start at about 1,270 sq ft and Dh2.7M.
- The tower is on the mainland. A company with its licence here is licensed by Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism and can trade across the UAE.
- Since March 2025, free-zone companies can also operate on Dubai's mainland with a DET permit, which narrows the gap between the two.
- The office market next door is older: most Silicon Oasis office towers were completed between 2010 and 2018, and they let at a median Dh90 a sq ft a year.
- An office here makes sense in two ways: for the 7% net guarantee, or as your own company's address. Let yourself at today's median rent, it would yield about 3.75% net.
The WOW Tower offices in numbers
| Feature | The WOW Tower offices |
|---|---|
| Number | 300, twenty on each of floors 1 to 15 |
| Sizes | 1,012 to 4,891 sq ft; average 2,226; the smallest suites are sold out |
| Balcony share | About 23% of total area on average |
| Condition at handover | Shell and core: water, power, drainage and fibre connections, provision for a pantry and a private bathroom |
| Access | Own entrance, lobby and lifts; an outdoor executive lounge on floor 16 for office users only |
| Starting price | Dh2,700,000, about Dh2,127 per sq ft on an entry suite of about 1,269 sq ft |
| VAT | 5% on the price, payable by the buyer on top of it, with each instalment |
| Service charge | Dh12 per sq ft of interior and Dh3 per sq ft of balcony a year; about Dh13,000 for an entry suite |
| Guarantee | 7% a year for 10 years, net of the service charge, optional |
Shell and core means the buyer or tenant designs and pays for the fit-out.
Mainland or free zone: what the licence means
Most Dubai companies are licensed in one of two systems. On the mainland, the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) issues the licence, and a mainland company can trade anywhere in the UAE, including with government bodies. In a free zone, the zone's own authority issues it, and the company has been limited to its zone unless it holds a permit.
Dubai Silicon Oasis is a free zone, part of the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority. DLRC is on the mainland. So The WOW Tower gives a mainland address next to a free-zone business district.
One change matters here. Under Executive Council Resolution No. 11 of 2025, issued on 17 March 2025, a free-zone company can now operate on Dubai's mainland if it obtains a permit from DET, a branch licence renewed each year, and keeps separate accounts for its mainland business. That makes a mainland address less unique than it was. It still suits the businesses that most need it:
- Companies whose customers are UAE residents and businesses rather than export markets.
- Firms that want a single mainland licence rather than a free-zone licence plus an annual DET permit.
- Owners who want their company's office in the building where they, or their staff, live.
Which licence and which activities fit your business is a question for DET or a company formation adviser; the activity list decides more than the address.
Office supply in Silicon Oasis: how old, and how much more is coming
DLD's building records give completion dates for most of the office and mixed-use towers in Dubai Silicon Oasis:
| Tower | Completed |
|---|---|
| S.I.T Tower | December 2010 |
| Silicon Heights | September 2011 |
| The Apricot | October 2011 |
| Silicon Boulevard | January 2012 |
| Silicon Gates | January 2014 |
| Silicon Gates 4, Silicon Heights 2 | July and August 2016 |
| Lynx | May 2018 |
| Arabian Gate, Arabian Gate 2 | October 2020, January 2023 |
So most of the office space nearby is 8 to 16 years old. In the 90 days to 7 October 2026, 13 offices changed hands in Silicon Oasis, all resales, at a median of Dh1,052 a sq ft.
New supply is coming too. In January 2026 Dubai announced District IO in Silicon Oasis: 25 buildings, 18 of them commercial, with a first phase from 2026 and a second from 2027, planned to host more than 6,500 companies. That is new office space The WOW Tower's offices will compete with for tenants after handover, and also a source of jobs for the people who rent its apartments.
Office rents nearby
| Office tower | Leases in 90 days | Median rent a sq ft a year |
|---|---|---|
| Lynx Business | 9 | Dh96 |
| Suntech Tower | 17 | Dh86 |
| S.I.T Tower | 61 | Dh84 |
| Palace Towers T1 | 16 | Dh79 |
| IT Plaza | 36 | Dh78 |
| Silicon Boulevard | 16 | Dh78 |
| The Apricot | 11 | Dh73 |
| Le Solarium | 45 | Dh67 |
| Registered to Silicon Oasis with no building name | 102 | Dh132 |
| All Silicon Oasis commercial leases | 335 | Dh90 (middle half Dh71 to Dh114) |
These are 12- to 13-month commercial leases of 300 to 6,000 sq ft, starting between 9 July and 7 October 2026. The median lease covers 1,206 sq ft, close to the size of an entry WOW Tower suite, and new leases and renewals let at almost the same median, Dh90 and Dh89. The named towers, the older stock, sit at Dh67 to Dh96; the higher-paying contracts are the ones registered with no building name.
Who buys and who rents offices here
The tenants are small companies: the median lease is about 1,200 sq ft. On the buying side, all 13 offices sold in Silicon Oasis this quarter were resales in existing towers.
For The WOW Tower, I see three buyers:
- Business owners from the villa communities around DLRC, such as Haven by Aldar and Arabian Ranches 3, which the developer puts 7 and 20 minutes away, who want their company close to home on a mainland licence.
- Companies that want their own premises rather than a lease.
- Investors who want the 7% guaranteed income and no tenant to find.
What an office earns without the guarantee
The guarantee and how it compares with market yields are covered in Part 7. Here is the other side: what an entry WOW Tower office of about 1,269 sq ft, bought at Dh2.7M, would earn if you let it yourself at today's Silicon Oasis rents, after a service charge of about Dh13,000.
| Rent a sq ft a year | Where that rent sits today | Rent a year | Net yield at Dh2.7M |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dh71 | Lower quartile of Silicon Oasis leases | Dh90,100 | 2.9% |
| Dh90 | Median of all 335 leases | Dh114,300 | 3.75% |
| Dh96 | Best-paying named tower, Lynx Business | Dh121,900 | 4.0% |
| Dh114 | Upper quartile | Dh144,700 | 4.9% |
| Dh132 | Leases with no building name | Dh167,600 | 5.7% |
| Dh159 | The rent needed to match the guarantee | Dh201,900 | 7.0% |
So a new office let at the market median earns a little less than a WOW Tower studio or one-bedroom let at DLRC's median rents, about 4% net. A new building should let above the old towers, but even the upper quartile of today's leases is a long way below the Dh159 a sq ft you would need to match the guarantee. That is why I see the WOW Tower office as one of two purchases: an income product with the guarantee, or premises for your own company. As a self-let investment at today's rents, a studio or one-bedroom does at least as well.
Using the office for your own company
Because the guarantee is optional, you can keep the office for your own business. Three points to plan for:
- Fit-out. A shell and core suite needs partitions, ceilings, finishes, air-conditioning distribution and furniture. Get a quote before you book.
- VAT. The 5% on the price is a cost if you buy in your own name. A VAT-registered company that uses the office for its taxable business can usually reclaim it. For a UAE resident business, registration is compulsory above Dh375,000 of taxable supplies a year and possible above Dh187,500, under the Federal Tax Authority's rules; non-residents follow different rules. Ask your tax adviser before deciding in whose name to buy.
- Licence. Your DET licence and its activities decide what you can do from the office, not the other way round.
Office users also get their own lobby and lifts and the floor 16 terrace, which is a real advantage for a small company receiving clients. The district around the tower is described in my Dubai Silicon Oasis area guide. The full series is in the WOW Tower investor guide.
Sources and dates
- Office numbers, sizes, balcony share: Mr. Eight business apartment list (April 2026), parsed 7 Oct 2026. Shell and core specification, lobby, floor 16: business fact sheet (May 2026), page 4, and business brochure (Aug 2026), page 16.
- Price, VAT with each instalment, guarantee, smallest suites sold out: the developer's October 2026 terms. Service charge rates: Mr. Eight, 30 Sep 2026. VAT of 5% on commercial sales, payable by the buyer on top of the price: business brochure, VAT note on the price pages.
- Rent scenarios: Silicon Oasis lease quartiles and tower medians below, applied to an entry suite of 1,269.5 sq ft and a service charge of Dh12,998 (Dh12 on 1,021 sq ft of interior and Dh3 on 248 sq ft of balcony).
- Mainland and free-zone licensing: dubai.ae business set-up guide, read 7 Oct 2026. Executive Council Resolution No. 11 of 2025, 17 March 2025: protocol.dubai.ae, read 7 Oct 2026. DSO's authority: dso.ae.
- Completion dates of Silicon Oasis towers: DLD building records via DXB Interact, 7 Oct 2026.
- Silicon Oasis office sales (13, all resales, median Dh1,052 a sq ft) and commercial leases (335 of 416 contracts after filtering, median Dh90, by tower): DLD registrations and Ejari contracts, 9 Jul to 7 Oct 2026, via DXB Interact, retrieved 7 Oct 2026.
- District IO: Dubai Media Office, 22 Jan 2026.
- VAT registration thresholds: Federal Tax Authority, tax.gov.ae, read 7 Oct 2026.
- Drive times to the villa communities: Mr. Eight residential brochure, page 11.
Request exclusive pricing
Starting prices are public in this guide. The full price list, the units still available and the offers that apply to them I send directly. Four details, and WhatsApp opens with your message ready to send.
Frequently asked questions
On the Dubai mainland, in Dubai Land Residence Complex. A company with its office there is licensed by the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), not by a free-zone authority.
A mainland company, licensed by DET, can trade anywhere in the UAE, including with government bodies. A free-zone company is licensed by its zone and has historically been limited to the zone and abroad; since March 2025 it can also work on Dubai's mainland with a DET branch permit.
From Dh2,700,000, about Dh2,127 per sq ft on an entry suite of about 1,269 sq ft, plus 5% VAT. The smaller suites are sold out; the largest reach 4,891 sq ft.
Commercial leases starting between July and October 2026 had a median of Dh90 per sq ft a year, with the middle half between Dh71 and Dh114, across 335 contracts registered with DLD.
Yes, 5% on the price of commercial property. At The WOW Tower it is charged with each instalment. A VAT-registered company using the office for taxable business can usually reclaim it; an individual usually cannot unless registered.
Yes. The 7% guarantee is optional, so you can keep the office for your own business. It is delivered shell and core, so budget for the fit-out, and check that your DET licence covers your activities.
From 1,012 to 4,891 sq ft, with an average of 2,226 sq ft. The smallest suites are already sold, so the offices still available start at about 1,270 sq ft.
With the 7% guarantee, the office pays more on today's numbers, for ten years. Without it, an office let at the median Silicon Oasis rent of Dh90 a sq ft would yield about 3.75% net at the WOW Tower price, a little below a studio or one-bedroom let at DLRC's median rents.