Is my office Grade A? The office grade checker
Hotels are graded by a rigid star system with set rules. Offices are not.
Tick what your building has
Each box is the Grade A standard in plain words. Tick the ones your building meets and leave the rest; the verdict changes as you go.
The verdict
An office to buy, lease or sell?
How the checker reads your building
- Grade A: all 4 fixed-for-life boxes ticked, and no more than two of the other 8 missing.
- Grade B today, with Grade A bones: all 4 fixed-for-life boxes ticked, and three or more of the others missing. The checker names them: a refurbishment could bring them back.
- Grade B: any fixed-for-life box missing. The checker names it, because a refurbishment cannot change it. With every other box ticked, it reads a strong Grade B.
Rent is not a box: it follows the grade. Grade A asks the highest rent in the market, with the least space to choose from.
An indicative check against our Grade A guide, not an official grade: offices, unlike hotels, have no official grading.
The 12 criteria
Fixed for life. A refurbishment cannot change these. Check them first.
- Location: in a prime district with metro and main-road links, such as DIFC, Downtown or Business Bay. The address itself. Grade B sits in a secondary district or at the edge of the centre, with car-first access.
- Floor plates: large, regular floors with few columns. The floor plate is the shape of each floor. Grade B has smaller or awkward plates and more columns.
- Ceiling height: ceilings about 2.6 m or more, floor to ceiling. The BCO’s UK figure for Grade A is about 2.6–2.75 m. Grade B has lower ceilings.
- Structure: built to a high specification from the start, not to the minimum. Built well, a tower holds Grade A for longer, because its structure stays ahead of the market. Built to the minimum, it slips to Grade B sooner.
A refurbishment can bring these back. Lifts, services, finishes, the lobby and amenities can all be brought back to Grade A.
- Age and finish: new, or fully refurbished to current codes, with a premium facade and lobby. Grade B is older, with dated design and technology: maintained, not modernised.
- Lifts: fast lifts, enough for the building, with short waits at peak. Grade B has fewer, slower lifts and queues at peak.
- Air and light: high-capacity, zoned cooling and fresh air, full-height glass and daylight. Grade B has older chillers and air handling, smaller windows and patchy lighting.
- Sustainability: a green or wellbeing certificate, such as LEED, BREEAM or WELL. Grade B has no certificate, or an old one, and higher energy bills.
- Parking and access: a strong parking ratio (bays per floor area), EV charging and visitor bays. Grade B has adequate parking, few visitor bays, and street or paid parking nearby.
- Connectivity: fibre from several providers, a building management system (central control of its services) and back-up power. Grade B has a single provider and less back-up, and occupiers fit their own.
- Amenities: reception, cafes and a gym, with showers, lockers and bike storage. Grade B has a lobby and little else, with amenities nearby or off site.
- Management: one professional owner, with a facilities team, security and cleaning on a plan. Grade B has many small owners, or an absent one, and repairs only when things break.
The full side-by-side, Grade A against Grade B on every row, is in the guide: What is a ‘Grade A’ office? (PDF).
Common questions
Is there an official Grade A standard for offices?
No. Hotels are graded by a rigid star system with set rules. Offices are not. Grade A is a market label with no fixed test and no examiner, so a building is judged on shared criteria: location, floor plates and ceilings, lifts, air and light, sustainability, parking, connectivity, amenities and management.
Can a Grade B office building become Grade A?
In part. A refurbishment can restore the grade: lifts, services, finishes, the lobby and amenities can be brought back to Grade A. But location, ceiling height, floor plate and structure cannot be refurbished in, so check those first.
Why do some towers stay Grade A longer than others?
A grade is not for life. In our view, a tower built to a high specification holds Grade A for longer, because its structure, floor plates, lifts and services stay ahead of the market. Built to the minimum, it slips to Grade B sooner.
Does a Grade A office cost more to rent?
Yes. Grade A asks the highest rent in the market, with the least space to choose from. Grade B advertises a cheaper rent, so compare it after incentives and service charges.
Sources
Sources: Morgan Lovell, Overbury, Oktra; BCO (British Council for Offices) Guide to Specification 2014 (UK figures). LEED, BREEAM, WELL: green and wellbeing certificates.
The checker is built from our guide What is a ‘Grade A’ office?, which reads those sources together. The ceiling figure is the BCO’s for the UK.
This tool is general information, not a survey, valuation or investment advice. It is only as good as the ticks you give it: check the building against its own documents and a site visit.