Workthere: Demand for flexible office space in the Netherlands continues

Data from Workthere, the flexible office specialist shows that, despite the ongoing wider economic uncertainty, new business continues to drive enquiry demand in the flexible office sector in the Netherlands, accounting for over a third of demand in 2020.

Ed Bouterse, Head of Workthere Europe, comments:

Despite the unrest and uncertainty driven by the coronavirus outbreak, the flexible office market has proved to be resilient in 2020. Providers did not have to change their approach too much and maintained demand from occupiers. In addition, the Sentiment Survey (March 2021) showed that 12% of flexible office providers are very optimistic about the next three months.

In terms of pricing, Workthere found that the average price of a desk in a private office only fell 5.6% (yoy). In 2020, the average monthly cost per desk was €276 and the average term length increased with 18.1%. This can be explained by occupiers being happy to continue occupying flexible space and a growing interest from a wider group of companies.

The average number of desks per enquiry fell 35% (quarter-on-quarter) to 7.1 desks. Workthere notes that this is due to the uptake from new businesses that relatively have smaller workforces.

Justin Kruseman Aretz, Head of Workthere Netherlands, adds:

Flexibility is the solution to the COVID-19 pandemic as companies are unwilling to commit to long-term contracts. The fundamentals in the flexible office market remain strong, which is illustrated by the 50% increase in the number of searches for flexible office space in January 2021 compared to January 2020 (Market in Minutes Q1 2021 – the Netherlands). There is a need for flexibility, and this trend is expected to continue over the years ahead.

You can read our full Dutch flexible market snapshot here.