Desk prices for flexible offices continue to rise driven by demand for best-in-class space, says Workthere

According to the latest research from Workthere, the average price for a private office desk in the UK was £595 per month in 2023, which is a 7% increase on 2022, and surpasses the desk price pre-Covid by 14%. The flexible office specialist notes that London has been the main driver behind this rise due to the delivery of a number of new schemes during 2023 commanding a premium desk price. In London, average prices now stand at £787, a 16% increase year on year and up 30% on 2019 figures.

This upward pressure on desk prices has also been driven by the total number of enquires in 2023 for flex space, which for Workthere were up 4% on the record year of 2022, albeit total size of enquiry was marginally down from 7 desks in 2022 to 6 desks in 2023.

Cal Lee, global head of Workthere, comments:

The flexible office market has continued to prove resilient over the past few years, despite more challenging macro-economic conditions, due to the increased demand for flexible working options post covid. The growing appetite for best in class space from businesses has continued to drive desk rates at the premium end of the market. This is resulting in an increased polarisation within the London market, with premium spaces (£900+ per desk) accounting for 37.5% of transactions, compared to just 15% in 2022 and 14% in 2021. Similarly we’ve seen the percentage of more budget London options (less than £600 per desk) decrease as a percentage of market share, from 75% in 2021 to 32.5% in 2023.

For the first time, Workthere’s research reveals the price per square footage across all deals. The average in London was £235 per sq ft, whilst the average for rest of UK was £115 per sq ft. The average for the UK as a whole was £184 per sq ft.

Workthere also reports that occupancy (by contract) levels remained largely stable, dropping to 88% from 90% in London at end of H2 2023, and to 86% from 88% in rest of the UK, underpinning the continued resilience of the flexible office market.