According to a study published today by the flexible office specialist Workthere, the flexible office market has shown positive signs of recovery. This is reflected in a number of areas.
The growing number of requests for flexible office space has improved tremendeously, and was even higher in July and August compared to the same period last year (+ 8%, +44% respectively). Companies operating in the business services, the creative sector and the ICT sector are particularly leading the way (comprising 33%, 20% and 9% of all searches). After a short drop due to a delay in leasing activity during the first wave of the coronavirus, the numbers are back to normal which indicates a v-shaped recovery for the flexible office market.
COVID-19 has accelerated a number of worktrends, including flexible working. Within the office market, this translates into a growing need for flexible office space. At this moment, companies do not want to commit themselves to long-term leases, and are therefore looking for more flexible solutions. An important advantage is the fact that most flexible office operators offer a montly subscription and whether you need space for 1 or 100 people, it’s possible.
Jordy Kleemans, Head of Research & Consultancy at Savills in the Netherlands, explains: “The Tech sector is known for predominantly using flexible office space. Since the start of lockdown, the number of search queries in this sector has increased by no less than 50%. Moreover, the use of flexible office space has also increased in other sectors like business services, education and healthcare. Together, these sectos accounted for 20% of total demand.”
Flexible offices at locations that are easily accessible, such as city centres, remain popular. The “Workthere in Minutes” research has also revealed that most entrepeneurs remain interested in locations like the G5. Among Tech companies, Amsterdam is the most popular city, Rotterdam mainly attracts creative enterpreneurs, and Utrecht displays a healthy mix of different sectors.
Ed Bouterse, Head of Workthere Europe, concludes: “The flexible office market optimally responds to the wishes and the changing customer needs. Now, more than ever, the user demands flexibility. We therefore expect continued increasing demand for flexible office space from a wider range of companies. Covid-19 has accelerated a worktrend that started a few a years ago.“