20% OF EUROPEAN OFFICE STOCK COULD BECOME FLEX

Workthere and Savills anticipates that flex office stock in Europe will reach circa 20% of total office stock across the continent over the next 10 years. However, this will vary significantly by location and working culture, as the definition of what is considered ‘flex’ broadens.

European flex office demand reached 193,000 sq m during H1 2022, in line with the levels recorded for the full year 2020 and 2021, according to Savills latest research. Amsterdam, Paris CBD and Lisbon have been the most active markets in this sector over the last 18 months. Flex office demand accounted for 5% of overall take up across European cities during H1 2022, up from 3% during the pandemic, and remains on a gradual recovery to the 8-9% observed before the pandemic.

Ed Bouterse, Head of Workthere Europe, says: “The recovery of the flexible office sector has been most apparent by rising occupancy levels. According to our recent Flexmark report, occupancy rates are back to pre-pandemic levels of over 80% in private offices and over 65% for shared space".

Thomas Jodar, Associate Director, Workthere project lead in Poland, comments: "The confirmation of coworking phenomenon is the constantly growing demand of operators for new locations and the highest occupancy rate of flex space, which in Poland oscillates around 80%. Along with the popularization of this form of rental and progressing inflation, we are also observing a gradual increase in rates for renting a flexible workstation on our market.”