Fit-Out Services in Dubai & Sharjah
Retail, office, F&B and clinical fit-outs delivered to landlord and authority requirements - drawings, permits, MEP, joinery and handover documentation, all under one contract.
In this climate /
In a Dubai fit-out, the programme is the product Every day between lease commencement and opening is a day of rent against zero revenue. That single fact should govern how a fit-out is run, and it is why the permit process matters more than any design decision. Malls, towers and master developments in Dubai each operate their own fit-out approval regime - a drawing submission in their format, an approved-contractor requirement, insurance and bond documentation, permits for hot works and after-hours working, and a defined handover and inspection process. Depending on the use, you may also need Dubai Municipality approval, Civil Defence sign-off for fire and life-safety systems, and in food and healthcare premises, approvals specific to those sectors.
Rejected submissions are the single largest cause of delay, and they are almost always avoidable. A drawing set that does not match the landlord's template, a missing insurance certificate, a contractor not on the approved list - each costs a resubmission cycle, and cycles take weeks.
We have worked inside these processes. That means fewer rejections and an earlier opening date, which is what you are actually buying.
Scope /
What we do
Sectors
- Retail and shop fit-out
- Office fit-out and workspace churn
- Restaurant, café and F&B
- Clinics and medical facilities
- Showrooms and galleries
- Salons and spas
- Nurseries and education spaces
- Gyms and fitness studios
Pre-construction
- Site survey and existing-condition assessment
- Design development and space planning
- 3D visualisation
- Landlord drawing submission and approval
- Authority approvals and permits
- Contractor registration and bonds
- Programme development
Construction
- Demolition and strip-out
- Partitions - gypsum, glass, aluminium
- Ceilings and bulkheads
- Complete electrical installation
- HVAC installation and modification
- Plumbing and drainage
- Fire detection and suppression interface
- ELV, data and security systems
- Flooring across all types
- Joinery, counters and display units
- Painting and specialist finishes
- Signage and branding installation
Handover
- Testing and commissioning
- Civil Defence and authority inspections
- Snagging and closeout
- As-built drawings
- O&M manuals and warranties
- Final clean
Symptoms /
What we get called for most
A new lease with a fixed opening date
The programme drives everything. We work backwards from your opening, identify the approval milestones, and flag anything that puts the date at risk before it does. A retail unit that needs turning around between tenants. Strip-out, make-good and refit, usually against a very tight window and frequently at night. Malls generally restrict noisy and delivery work to out-of-hours, so night working is normal rather than exceptional.
An office reconfiguration around a growing team
Churn works - moving partitions, adding meeting rooms, reworking power and data. Usually in an occupied office, so we phase and work evenings and weekends. A restaurant or café. The most technically demanding fit-out type: kitchen extraction, grease management, gas, water heating, drainage and fire suppression all interact, and all attract inspection. Getting the extraction and fire suppression right early is what keeps the opening date.
A clinic or medical facility
Specific requirements for finishes, hygiene, drainage, medical gas and separation. Approvals are involved and unforgiving of assumptions.
A fit-out that has been rejected or stalled
We review the submission, identify why it failed, correct it and resubmit.
How we work /
- 01
Site survey and feasibility
What the unit actually offers - power capacity, cooling, drainage points, structure, access. Assumptions here are expensive.
- 02
Design and specification
Layouts, visualisations, materials. Developed with the landlord's requirements already in mind.
- 03
Approvals
Landlord submission, authority applications, permits, bonds, insurance. Tracked, chased and reported.
- 04
Fixed-price contract and programme
Dated, with milestones you can hold us to.
- 05
Construction
One project manager, our own trades, out-of-hours working where the building requires it, daily progress reporting.
- 06
Commissioning and inspection
Systems tested, authority inspections attended, snags closed.
- 07
Handover
As-builts, O&M manuals, warranties and a clean unit ready to trade.
Indicative pricing /
What this work typically costs
- Office - standard
- On survey
- Office - premium
- On survey
- Retail
- On survey
- Restaurant / F&B
- On survey
- Clinic / medical
- On survey
- Strip-out and make-good
- On survey
Fit-out type From (per sq ft) Fit-out type From (per sq ft) Highly specification-dependent. Free survey and itemised quotation.
Why Spanex /
Why Spanex for fit-out
We know the approval regimes
Landlord submissions in the right format, first time. This is where programmes are won and lost.
Every trade in-house
MEP, joinery, finishes. No waiting on a subcontractor who has prioritised another site. We work when the building allows. Nights, weekends, restricted access, permit-to-work regimes. Standard for us.
Handover documentation done properly
As-builts, O&M manuals, warranties and test certificates. Landlords hold deposits over missing paperwork.
Programme reporting
You know where you are against the opening date every week, including the bad news early enough to act on it.
Sectors we serve /
- Retail and malls
- Commercial offices
- Healthcare and clinics
- Schools and nurseries
- Sports and leisure
- Industrial
- Hospitality
Questions /
Frequently asked
How long does a fit-out take in Dubai?
We start the approval process immediately rather than after design sign-off.
Do you handle landlord approvals?
Yes. Drawing submissions in the landlord's required format, contractor registration, insurance and bonds, and permits. We track and chase them.
Are you an approved contractor in Dubai malls?
Where registration is needed for a new location, we complete it as part of the pre-construction phase.
Can you work at night?
Yes, and in most malls we have to. Noisy work, deliveries and material movement are usually restricted to out-of- hours. Our programmes assume it.
What is the most common cause of fit-out delay?
Rejected drawing submissions, followed by discovering the unit cannot support the design - insufficient power, no drainage where the kitchen was planned, inadequate cooling capacity. Both are prevented by a thorough survey and a correctly formatted first submission.
Do you provide design?
Yes, including 3D visualisation. We are equally happy to build to your designer's drawings.
What about F&B kitchen requirements?
We handle extraction, grease management, gas, water heating, drainage and fire suppression, and coordinate the inspections. These systems interact, and designing them together rather than sequentially is what avoids rework.
What documentation do we receive at handover?
As-built drawings, O&M manuals, test and commissioning certificates, warranties, and authority approvals. You will need these for the landlord and for your own compliance.
Next step /
Get a fixed price for your fit-out
Free survey anywhere in Dubai and Sharjah. Written scope and fixed quotation before work starts.