Monthly Blog- August 2025
Jasen Leith
Whilst celebrating my birthday at the end of August is a quiet affair - a single candle and a small cake as I am now of an age where too many candles could start a fire, I am heading out to a country whose own Independence Day is August 31 - well attended and vibrant in its celebration.
Sadly, a night flight both in and out means I don’t get to see the island in its natural state, but lights are on, and I am assured the celebrations are set to go well into the wee hours of Monday. I am in Port of Spain, Trinidad &Tobago looking at the office market.
Construction which has generally been the mainstay for economic growth in Trinidad and Tobago has become passive, with very few large-scale developments being undertaken by private or public sector entities. Furthermore, no speculative office projects are underway, nor any indication that there will be in the immediate 2-3 years period. This development cycle is also affected by inflation, leading to increased shipping and logistics costs of materials, making it difficult for developers/investors to build.
The office market in the downtown district of Port of Spain has been dominated by Government ministries, the Central bank, several financial institutions, the Attorney General’s Office and a number of corporate occupiers.
Over the last decade there has been corporate office interest in the Savannah / St Clair areas of the city which are the location of choice for Shell, BPTT, the EU delegation, The Guardian Group, Cuna Caribbean Insurance and PWC.
There are a limited number of major international and domestic organisations with office space requirements, but there is also limited availability of office stock that is fit-for-purpose.
Recently there has been consolidation activity from a number of larger occupiers who have multiple locations, resulting in an emerging subletting market.
Prime office rents on Grade A properties are TTD 12.5 – TTD 14 /sq ft /month. (USD 1.8 - USD 2 /sq ft /month)
Good quality Grade B+ space, capable of attracting international organisations, attracts rents in the range of TTD 10 -TTD 11.5 /sq ft /month (USD 1.45 - USD 1.67 /sq ft /month)
