In the past 12 months the global hybrid and co-working office space market has grown by 18 percent.
The market is now twice the size it was back in 2013 and accounts for a third of all flexible space across the world.
John William of multinational flexible workplace specialist Instant Group believes the reason is the growing need for workspace on demand.
“The idea of workspace on demand’ revolves around businesses wanting more control, more flexibility and scalable business strategies that work for them.” wherever and whenever they need them. Businesses have been expecting this from their HR, payroll and IT for ages, and are now looking to their properties to deliver the same flexibility, he says.
Buying habits are driving the evolution of the office, according to Beth Hampson of London Executive Offices (LEO).
“Companies are getting used to working on shorter term contracts with their customers and therefore businesses need to be able to tailor their real estate to match,” she says.
The average office lease length has decreased from 15 years to just 5.3 years as operators observe the customer experience and adjust their offers accordingly.
Operators have begun to recognise the trend towards co-working and the availability of private office space that can be supplied at short notice and paid for on a monthly basis.
This is not just a trend seen in SMEs, 75 percent of FTSE 100 corporations for example now have flexible workspaces within their portfolio.
They look to take advantage a hybrid space sense of community while retaining some private spaces for meetings and confidential work.
The ability to procure and operate workspace through online platforms is easier than ever before.
This has led to more demand for the commercial real estate market to become more service-orientated and to search for these facilities via the web.
About the contributor
The Instant Group is a flexible workspace specialist with offices in London, Berlin, Dallas, New York, Hong Kong and Sydney. The company employs more than 100 experts and has clients in 113 countries. www.theinstantgroup.com.
