KLCC Grade A Towers: Floor-by-Floor Guide to Net vs Gross Area

The gross floor area (GFA) of an office building is the total area enclosed on any floor, measured from the outside face of the building envelope. It covers every square metre of that floor, regardless of use or usability.

In a typical KLCC Grade A tower floor, GFA comprises the following items that you, as a tenant, cannot use for your own operations:

Lift lobbies – the main central area where all lifts, escalators and stairwells are concentrated

Common corridors – any corridors serving multiple tenants on a split floor.

Mechanical and electrical rooms - Chilled water plant rooms, server rooms and distribution boards servicing the building

Toilet and bathroom facilities — these are common areas even if for use by tenant

Building management office – typically one per building or per podium level

Structural columns – main columns occupy floor space, but provide no useable space

Wall thickness – for GFA calculations internal and external wall thickness is included

If a landlord or agent says 'we have 15,000 sq ft available on Level 32', that 15,000 sq ft is the gross floor area of that floor or section of the tenancy. It's not the space your staff actually are going to be in.

Net Lettable Area (NLA) means the area of the demised premises which a tenant can actually furnish, occupy and operate from. Measured from the inside face of the external walls to the centre line of the shared walls with other tenants, excluding all the common areas detailed above.

The efficiency ratio is the ratio between NLA and GFA. So if you lease a building with an efficiency ratio of 85%, you actually only get to use 85 sq ft of the GFA for every 100 sq ft you lease. Only 75 sq ft out of every 100 sq ft is available to your people if your building is only 75% efficient.

Efficiency ratios in the KLCC market are generally divided into three tiers by building age and design:

Tier 1: High Efficiency — 83% - 92%

“Overall, more modern towers built after 2010 with slim core designs, energy-efficient lift arrangements and larger floor plates tend to achieve the best efficiency ratios.” This tier includes newer developments along Jalan Ampang and the wider fringe of KLCC with single-core designs, where a central service core is surrounded by a clean column-free tenant area. When looking at buildings on net cost rather than headline rate these buildings often come out ahead even when their psf rate is higher.

Tier 2: Mid Efficiency — 75% to 83% 

Most of the existing KLCC Grade A towers built in the 1990s and 2000s are within this range. The buildings are designed with dual core or oversized core layouts that decrease floor plate efficiencies. They often have generous lobby and common area fitments – marble floors, large reception areas, premium lift finishes – that create a prestigious building image but reduce the area available to tenants.

Tier 3: Lower Efficiency — Less than 75%

Some of the older KLCC towers and buildings with odd floor plate shapes (triangular floors, narrow floor plates, or split-level arrangements) may have efficiency ratios below 75%. This is rare in genuine Grade A buildings but more prevalent in heritage commercial buildings and older Grade B stock within the KLCC boundary.

Convert all quotes to an effective rate per square foot of NLA before comparing buildings. Here is the equation:

Effective Rate (NLA) = Quoted Rate (GFA) / Efficiency Ratio

Building A quotes RM10.00 psf on GFA with 80% efficiency ratio. Building B at RM 11.50 psf on GFA at 90% efficiency ratio.

Building A effective rate: RM 10.00 / 0.80 = RM 12.50 psf NLA

Effective Rate Building B RM 11.50 / 0.90 = RM 12.78 psf NLA

On headline, Building A looks cheaper by RM1.50 psf but on usable area basis, it is almost similar to Building B. Building A could well be more expensive overall, in addition to service charges (which are also charged on GFA in most buildings).

There is no single industry standard for quoting office space in Malaysia. Some landlords, agents quote GFA consistently. NLA is quoted by others. Some quote based on what makes their building look most competitive – meaning you could be comparing apples with oranges across your shortlist without realising it.

If you’re really thinking about building the best thing to do is ask for the following:

The gross floor area of the tenancy space 

net lettable area of the tenancy zone

The floor plan with boundaries of both

Confirmation of the figure on which rental rate is based

Treat any landlord or agent with caution if they refuse to supply these four items.

Not every floor in a building has the same efficiency ratio. Lower floors that are on the same podium level as retail, car parks or building services, tend to have lower efficiency than mid-rise floors. The reduction in NLA may also apply to upper floors with mechanical plant rooms or sky lobbies.

For buildings with large floor plates (20,000 sq ft GFA or above per floor), the efficiency ratio tends to be higher as the core elements (lifts, toilets, corridors) are proportionally smaller to the total area. The older KLCC towers tend to have smaller floor plates so the core takes up a larger percentage of each floor which decreases efficiency.

If you have some choice as to which floor you occupy, ask the building management for an efficiency ratio breakdown by floor range. When paying for 5,000 sq ft or more, the difference between the most efficient and least efficient floors in the same building can be three to five percentage points – significant difference.

Serviced office providers in KLCC generally quote desk rates or private office rates that include all common areas, reception, meeting rooms and facilities in the package. Providers include WeWork, Colony, Common Ground and The Grid. Comparing on a per-square-foot basis with conventional office leasing is not easy, since you are buying a different product: fully fitted, fully serviced space with flexible tenure.

The economics of serviced offices in KLCC often compare favourably to a conventional lease for businesses with 10 or fewer staff, not least because you eliminate fit-out costs, reinstatement costs and service charge uncertainty. For companies with over 20 employees and two years or more of service, a standard lease in a Grade A or Grade B+ building typically makes better economic sense.

Use this checklist to evaluate any KLCC office tenancy:

Ask for GFA and NLA in writing from the landlord or their agent

Calculate efficiency ratio (NLA/GFA)

Convert similar buildings to an effective rate per NLA sq ft

Effective NLA rate + Service charges (charged on GFA) = Total base occupancy cost

Go to the floor and physically walk the space – square footage on paper can feel very different when columns, pillars or irregular shapes reduce the workable area further.

Ask specifically about any riser rooms, electrical distribution boards or structural elements within the demise that reduce your actual workable space

Ask for a copy of the strata title or details of the individual lot if you are buying a strata office unit

Whether you’re after a premium Grade A tower, a mid-tier office floor or a strata unit to buy, the team at KLCC Office has the local knowledge and access to on-market and off-market listings that general portals simply can’t touch.

Visit www.klccoffice.net today to schedule a confidential, no obligation discussion with us. We are only tenant and buyer agents in the Kuala Lumpur City Centre commercial market and will give you honest, agent to agent level advice that saves you time and money. Or contact me to set earliest appointment to view your new office.

Zilla Ahmad
+60133994986
Website: www.klccoffice.com

Specialisation: KLCC commercial office – leasing, purchasing and investment

Scope of work: All Grade A, Grade B+ and strata office buildings in KLCC