What gross leasable area means, and how it differs from GFA

Gross leasable area (GLA) is the floor space a landlord can put on a lease. It leaves out the lift cores, plant rooms and shared corridors that nobody rents.

Gulf filings often confuse it with three other measures. King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) in Riyadh has over 900,000 sqm of office space inside 3.2 million sqm of total GFA (KAFD, 2026).

Key figures at a glance

What GLA is, and what it is not

Gross floor area (GFA) is the planner's number. It covers all built floor area, including cores, plant and often parking. KAFD's 3.2 million sqm is a GFA figure. The 900,000 sqm of office inside it is the leasable part.

Gross leasable area (GLA) is the landlord's number. It is the space a tenant can occupy under a lease.

Net leasable or net lettable area (NLA) strips out common areas more strictly, though in the Gulf the labels blur. Riyad REIT reports 799,463 sqm of "Net Leasable Area" (Riyad REIT, Dec 2025). Emirates REIT uses "Net Lettable Area" for the same idea, at 168,222 sqm (Emirates REIT, Dec 2025). What counts is each fund's stated basis, whatever it calls it.

Built-up area (BUA) is the everyday Gulf term. It means total built area, walls and services included, so it is much closer to GFA. Al Rajhi REIT describes its Riyadh multi-tenant office by built-up area, 9,162 sqm (Al Rajhi REIT, Dec 2023).

KAFD, from total floor area down to leased space

KAFD publishes a clean set of nested figures: 1.6 million sqm of land and 3.2 million sqm of total GFA, with over 900,000 sqm of office space inside it (KAFD, 2026). Office is roughly 28% of the built area.

By August 2025 KAFD had leased more than 580,000 sqm of office space (KAFD via Argaam). Measured against the 900,000 sqm of office, that is about 64% let, which is the figure that matters for Riyadh's office market. Measured against total GFA it drops to 18%, and a district two-thirds let would look mostly empty.

Why the area basis changes a valuation

Any price per square metre inherits the area under it. Al Rajhi REIT's Riyadh office cost SAR 72,178,814 for 9,162 sqm built-up, about SAR 7,878 per sqm (Al Rajhi REIT, Dec 2023). The leasable area is always smaller, so on that basis the same building looks noticeably dearer.

So ranking REIT portfolios on a plain "SAR per sqm" puts BUA reporters ahead of NLA reporters. Some disclosed areas are not even office. TECOM Group's 22.6 million sq ft of "leasing area" mixes commercial and industrial space (TECOM, 31 Mar 2026), so it cannot stand in for office GLA in Dubai's office market.

No Gulf regulator sets area definitions for REIT disclosure, and no fund publishes a GLA-to-BUA ratio. We put every figure on the same area basis before comparing, and label it, as we do for Grade A classifications. Request an area-normalised dataset for your market.

FAQ

What is the difference between GLA and GFA? GFA is all built floor area, including cores, plant and often parking. GLA is only the part a tenant can lease. At KAFD that means 900,000+ sqm of leasable office within 3.2 million sqm of GFA (KAFD, 2026).

What is the difference between GLA and NLA? NLA excludes common areas more strictly. Gulf funds use the labels loosely, so check each fund's own basis.

What is BUA (built-up area) in Gulf real estate? BUA is total built area, walls and services included. It is close to GFA, so it overstates the space you can let.

How is gross leasable area calculated? Start from GFA and take out what a lease cannot cover: the structural core, lift shafts, plant rooms, shared lobbies and corridors. There is no Gulf-wide standard, so check the stated basis and never mix bases in one comparison.

Sources

• KAFD official site, land, GFA and office space figures: link
• KAFD via Argaam, 580,000+ sqm of office leased (Aug 2025): link
• Riyad REIT Fund, Annual Report 2025: link
• Emirates REIT, FY2025 Fact Sheet: link
• Al Rajhi REIT, Annual Report 2023: link
• TECOM Group, Investor Relations (leasing area to 31 Mar 2026): link