Giles Fuchs in Property Week – the appetite for flexible workspace is evolving

There has been a surge in appetite for flexible workspaces, where the space as a service model is becoming increasingly popular for businesses large and small.

As demand for workspaces continues to diversify, new players have entered the market, recognising the value added by flexible workspace. In a recent comment in Property Week, CEO and co-founder of Office Space in Town, Giles Fuchs discusses the growing appetite for flexible workspace and the necessary steps to ensuring the longevity of a rapidly evolving industry.

The flexible workspace market has undergone a shift, it has gone mainstream – with appetite from office landlords and tenants growing, but also interest being shown by non-traditional players such as retailers.

This is in part due to the ‘treatment of space as a service’ resulting in a surge in appetite for workspaces which offer flexibility and can also meet the changing working habits and business needs which are driving the longer-term transformation of ‘the office’.

Businesses are far more focussed on catering to employee demand for flexibility. Break-out areas, communal space, cafes, roof terraces, even beauty salons, are becoming common as work and hospitality spaces come together. For landlords and occupiers this presents other forms of revenue, beyond rent (and this enhanced value should be taken into account in valuation metrics).

Undoubtedly political and economic uncertainty is also a driving force, as businesses realise that productivity, profitability and growth can be maintained if they can more easily scale office space up or down, without the costs and disruption of moving. This is leading many businesses to shy away from the fixed terms and costs associated with long leases.

Read the full article here.