JLL has been named exclusive leasing agent for Al Bustan Business Park, a new Grade A commercial development by Olayan Financing Company in Northern Riyadh. The project covers 35,000 square metres of Grade A office gross leasable area spread across six office buildings, with two further buildings dedicated to food and beverage use. Completion is scheduled for the second quarter of 2027.
The appointment puts JLL at the centre of a Riyadh commercial real estate market running at near-full capacity, with prime office vacancy at 0.5 percent and prime rents climbing 7.3 percent year on year in Q2 2025, according to JLL data cited by Arab News. Dana Williamson, Head of Offices, Business Space & Retail, MEA at JLL, framed the project as a beneficiary of what he called the flight-to-quality trend sweeping the Saudi capital. The release was distributed by TradeArabia News Service on Monday.
The Project at a Glance
Al Bustan Business Park is positioned in Northern Riyadh’s business district as a mixed-use hub combining office space with food and beverage offerings. The development comprises six office buildings, with one of the six designated as Olayan Financing Company’s new headquarters. Two further buildings are dedicated to F&B use. The mixed-use configuration is designed to draw daily foot traffic into the project beyond the office workforce.
The Grade A office footprint totals 35,000 sqm of gross leasable area, with typical floor plates ranging from 1,000 to 2,000 square metres. That range gives tenants flexibility to design and optimise layouts for teams of varying sizes, from single-floor occupiers to larger headquarters users. Two basement parking levels support the development with what the developer describes as an outstanding parking ratio. LEED Gold certification under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standard anchors the project’s sustainability commitments.
The project is on track for Q2 2027 completion, putting the delivery on the late-2020s track alongside other northern Riyadh office projects. The release frames the hub as designed to stimulate economic growth, foster collaboration, and elevate urban living in the area. That positioning aligns Al Bustan Business Park with Vision 2030’s goals for integrated, sustainable, and technologically advanced urban development.
Riyadh’s Office Market Is Already at Near-Full Capacity
Riyadh’s office market is among the tightest in the Middle East. JLL data cited by Arab News put prime office vacancy in the capital at 0.5 percent in Q2 2025, with prime rents climbing 7.3 percent year on year to SR3,630 ($967) per square metre per year. Independent tracking of Riyadh’s commercial real estate trends in 2026 confirms the same pattern has continued into the new year. The Saudi capital’s vacancy reading is the lowest JLL has documented across its Middle East office coverage.
Grade A vacancy across Riyadh sat at 3.8 percent in the second quarter of 2025, with Grade B at 2.9 percent in the same period, per the JLL figures reported by Arab News. Total office stock in the city reached 8.1 million square metres in the quarter, with an additional 0.66 million square metres expected to come online by year-end. New supply is not yet catching up with demand.
Demand is multinational-driven. The Saudi Press Agency reported in March that nearly 600 global companies, including Northern Trust, IHG Hotels & Resorts, and Deloitte, have established bases in the Kingdom since 2021. The Regional Headquarters Program offers international firms a 30-year exemption from corporate income and withholding taxes, plus discounts and support services. The tax incentive has pulled multinational occupiers into the same tight market that Al Bustan Business Park will enter.
Saudi Arabia’s Real Estate General Authority expects the country’s broader property market to reach $101.62 billion by 2029, growing at an 8 percent compound annual rate from 2024. That projection sits behind a stream of new project announcements in Riyadh’s northern corridor. Al Bustan Business Park’s 35,000 sqm Grade A footprint is one of those announcements, entering a market where supply is the binding constraint.
- 0.5%: Riyadh prime office vacancy, Q2 2025 (JLL via Arab News)
- 7.3%: YoY growth in Riyadh prime office rents, Q2 2025 (JLL via Arab News)
- SR3,630 ($967): Prime office rent per square metre per year, Riyadh Q2 2025
- 8.1 million sqm: Total Riyadh office stock, Q2 2025
- $101.62 billion: Projected Saudi property market size by 2029 (REGA)
JLL’s Leasing Role at the Project
As exclusive leasing agent, JLL will deliver strategic market expertise for the project’s leasing strategy and execution. The mandate covers in-depth market analysis, planning of the tenant mix, and leading the successful completion of leasing agreements across the Grade A office and F&B components. JLL will bring its commercial real estate advisory capability to bear on Olayan’s new headquarters building alongside the space marketed to outside tenants. KSA office market dynamics from Q2 2025 have set the analytical baseline for the work.
JLL is among the largest commercial real estate services firms globally, with offices across the Gulf region including a dedicated Saudi Arabia practice. The exclusive mandate concentrates leasing responsibility with a single global firm. Prospective tenants working the Grade A space at Al Bustan Business Park will route enquiries through one agency from first contact to signed lease.
The ‘Flight-to-Quality’ Phrase Reshaping Demand
Williamson framed Al Bustan Business Park as a beneficiary of what he called the flight-to-quality trend in Riyadh’s office market. The phrase captures a tenant shift toward higher-spec space as multinationals relocate their regional headquarters to the Saudi capital. Northern Riyadh is the preferred destination for the upgrade. Independent guides to Riyadh’s office geography map the same pattern across KAFD and the Diplomatic Quarter.
JLL’s own KSA Office Market Dynamics report from August 2025 documents the relocation pattern in detail. The research describes the Riyadh office environment as a pronounced landlord-favourable market. Multinational corporations continue to establish regional headquarters in Riyadh, particularly within the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD), according to the same report.
Flex operators are also expanding their footprint across the Kingdom, with average lease lengths now extending beyond 18 months in JLL’s research. The shift from short-term commitments to longer deals reflects the growing share of flex space inside Riyadh’s office mix. Al Bustan Business Park’s combination of floor plates from 1,000 to 2,000 square metres and dedicated F&B buildings fits the demand profile JLL’s research describes. The project lands in a market JLL has described as a pronounced landlord-favourable environment.
Al Bustan Business Park, positioned in one of the Saudi capital’s most distinguished business addresses, benefits from the flight-to-quality trend. The combination of flexible, high-quality spaces in a highly sought-after location offering unparalleled accessibility and connectivity across Riyadh is attracting significant interest amongst leading businesses and multinational tenants.
Williamson made the comments in the appointment statement distributed by TradeArabia News Service on Monday.
Why Northern Riyadh, Why Olayan, Why Now
Olayan Financing Company is the Saudi real estate arm of The Olayan Group, one of the Kingdom’s oldest diversified business groups. Saudi business group origins dating to 1947 trace to founder Suliman S. Olayan, with the business remaining under family ownership today. Its investment portfolio spans listed equities, private equity, debt, and real estate.
- Al-Bustan Residences in Riyadh, in operation since April 2013
- More than 40,000 apartments managed globally across the Olayan Group portfolio
- More than 40 million square feet of real estate directly owned worldwide
Real estate is a long-standing pillar of the group’s portfolio, with the firm steadily building a diversified international footprint across multiple asset classes. The Riyadh footprint already includes Al-Bustan Residences, operating since April 2013 as a residential landmark under Olayan Financing Company’s management. The Olayan Group reports managing more than 40,000 apartments globally and directly owning more than 40 million square feet of real estate worldwide. Al Bustan Business Park extends that footprint from residential into Grade A commercial offices for the first time in this part of Riyadh, pairing the local track record with JLL’s regional leasing capability.
Where This Deal Fits in Vision 2030’s Real Estate Map
Al Bustan Business Park is positioned inside Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 framework. The release describes the development as aligned with the framework’s goals for integrated, sustainable, and technologically advanced urban development. The project is a key component of Riyadh’s northward urban expansion, benefitting from enhanced infrastructure tied to the city’s strategic growth plan.
The Regional Headquarters Program is the policy backbone of the office demand surge. The program offers multinational firms a 30-year exemption from corporate income and withholding taxes, plus discounts and support services. Nearly 600 global companies have established KSA bases since 2021 under the program, according to the Saudi Press Agency. Companies such as Northern Trust, IHG Hotels & Resorts, and Deloitte are among those that have set up regional offices under the framework.
Commercial real estate is the most visible edge of Vision 2030’s urban transformation, with the capital’s skyline reflecting the framework’s push for global business integration. Q1 2026 Riyadh office market report tracks consistent occupier demand across the quarter. The Real Estate General Authority expects Saudi Arabia’s property market to reach $101.62 billion by 2029, growing at an 8 percent compound annual rate from 2024.
That trajectory depends on a steady flow of new Grade A office, residential, and mixed-use supply in the capital, with Al Bustan Business Park sitting inside that pipeline. Williamson closed his statement by linking the partnership with Olayan Financing Company to Vision 2030’s transformation and modernization goals. The Q2 2027 completion target puts Al Bustan Business Park on the late-2020s delivery track. Riyadh’s Grade A vacancy rate will be the most-watched number on the deal between now and then.
