According to Savills research report 'City Special Utrecht 2021', demand for office space in Utrecht decreased during the pandemic, with the exception of some business sectors and companies that wanted to rent office space with short-term contracts.
Lotte de Jong, Head of Tenant Representation at Savills in the Netherlands, explains: “During the corona months, larger floor areas were taken up by a small number of parties. For example, Zorg van de Zaak N.V. (3,240 sq m), Rijksvastgoedbedrijf (5,400 sq m) and Fujitsu Technology Solutions B.V. (3,605 sq m). In some business sectors, such as healthcare, ICT and business services, the demand for office space increased during the pandemic, at the same time the demand was not forthcoming in many other business sectors, causing the total take-up in the Utrecht office market to fall.”
However, the diversity of office occupiers that characterizes Utrecht remained intact during the pandemic (20Q2-21Q2). This is confirmed by an analysis (see chart, below) that presents the diversity before and during the pandemic (19Q1-20Q1). Despite the fact that many different types of companies were still looking for office space in Utrecht, the relationships between the various business sectors have changed considerably.
Healthcare, ICT, wholesale and retail, government and business services companies were the most dominant sectors during the pandemic. Companies in these sectors have generally experienced lower negative impact from Covid-19. These sectors were responsible for 69% of the take-up during the pandemic, this percentage was 30% pre-Covid.
Jordy Kleemans, Head of Research & Consultancy at Savills in the Netherlands, says: “Despite a disappointing take-up in the first half of this year, demand did recover in 2021Q2 compared to 2021Q1 (+27%). The first signs of recovery are reflected in, among other things, a sharply increasing demand for flexible offices. The market for flexible office space is generally recovering faster than the conventional office market. After a recovery in the flex market, the overall office market will recover.”
Justin Kruseman Aretz, Head of Workthere Netherlands, the Savills platform for flexible office space, adds: “In the broad sense, ranging from SMEs to corporates, the demand for flexible office space has increased. Some companies wanted to add a flexible dimension to the way they worked during the pandemic by renting small-scale spaces with short-term contracts. The demand for flexible office space is therefore higher than the demand for conventional office space.”
Read the full report here.