Cluttons in Oman: changes in global telecoms industry has significant effect on Oman real estate market

Over the last two decades, international telecoms operators have been rolling out their mobile infrastructure networks and expanding regional and global footprints, either through the acquisition of competitors or by purchasing expensive operating licences.

This has resulted in the purchasing or leasing of large spaces for the telecom operators' headquarters in major cities worldwide.

However, this trend is currently being reversed worldwide as operators adopt a more strategic approach to their traditional infrastructure and real estate requirements become increasingly driven by the need to make significant cost savings. By embracing changes in technology, operators can now share equipment, whilst remaining independent from each other.

This means significant operational and capital costs reductions can be achieved, including annual property rents.

Philip Paul, head of office for Cluttons in Oman noted, "Such fluidity within the telecom sector means that some leasehold agreements are no longer considered commercially viable. These are being terminated as operators have the opportunity to share existing infrastructure, something which has only become technically viable recently. For landlords who also adopt a strategic approach to their property portfolios, the opportunity exists to secure a long-term revenue stream by granting operators the right to develop their network infrastructure on their properties."

Cluttons' findings are in line with other regional studies, which demonstrate that key Middle Eastern telecom companies have been fairly resilient during the tumultuous political period in the region and are in some instances actually stronger in terms of credit health, than their European equivalents. This was confirmed by the strong turnout and positive sentiment at the various telecom summits taking place across the region.

Philip Paul added, "With the Middle Eastern telecom industry undergoing various trend shifts, the operators and other big players have started re-defining their business models and carving out new revenue streams to create value and remain competitive. Operational expenditure synergies can also be achieved by operators outsourcing their real estate requirements, whether in the form of traditional estate and data management services, or the evaluation and performance rating of their entire corporate real estate portfolios. Cluttons is a leader in network estates management and continues to adapt to market needs. We always strive to find the best way to serve our clients' needs and to identify innovative ways to meet new and ever changing operator requirements through existing experience and market-led research."