Q1 2024
Flexible Workspace Insights | Workspace Demand by Area
Here at Officio, we work with thousands of business each year to help them secure flexible workspace across the UK and also globally.
We have been busily reviewing the data we have amassed during Q1 2024 to create some useful information to share with the industry and businesses interested in the flex space market. Don’t worry – the reports we create are just as simple, straightfoward and no nonsense as our core workspace search service – so you can get right to the heart of the stats without having to read a 100-page paper to get to the good bit!
Hopefully you have already caught up on Volume One which we published in May and focussed on demand. Now, we will take a look at the take up of workspace across London and the UK
Workspace Take Up by Location
Let’s start by taking a look at take up of space by area which we have split into London (Central), UK & Ireland Major Cities and UK & Ireland Towns and Cities. No surprise here to see that in 65% of the new workspace searches we conducted, businesses cited Central London as their location of choice.
When we dive into that 65% to seek out which areas of London were most in demand, The West End was in the lead as 34% of businesses chose this location for a new workspace. The City was next with 31% of new workspaces being taken in this London location.
Casting the net wider afield and looking at the Major Cities across UK & Ireland, Birmingham is topping the table with 31% of new workspace agreement in Major Cities, closely followed by Dublin at 25% which was the most in demand major city when we reviewed searches for new workspace.
Workspace Take Up Sales Cycle
Tracking all new agreements from the original date the search started provides for an interesting insight into decision making processes.
Interestingly, businesses choosing workspace in the Major Cities take the longest to decide on a space, averaging 112 days from initial search to signing on the dotted line. London workspace is decided upon in an average of 59 days, almost 50% quicker than in the Major Cities.
Workspace Take Up Desk Rates
One of the key metrics we have reviewed is the desk rate achieved in Q1 2024 for new contracts, along with the average desks per new contract.
This revealed strong results across all areas, with London clearly in the lead. A good rate is seen on average in Major Cities, increased by Dublin and Manchester markets which are strong and commanding a higher than average desk rate due to the quality of the space available.
Flexspace Take Up in Q1 2024
Officio are seeing a higher demand for flexible workspace than ever before and this is shown in the volume of businesses seeking to use our service in the first quarter of 2024, followed by a strong take up of new contracts in the quarter.
If you would like a copy of this report in PDF format, please email us on hello@askofficio.com