UK flexible workspace occupancy rates hit a record high in 2022, according to the latest research from The Instant Group. The company found overall UK occupancy stood at 83% at the end of the year, with 42% of centres reporting 90% occupancy.
In London, the average occupancy was 84%, with take-up driven by financial services firms – in the last quarter of 2022 the number of flex desks occupied by the financial sector in the capital doubled.
Flex vacancy rates fell in the core UK cities of Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol, Edinburgh and Leeds between Q4 2021 and Q4 2022, with just 10% of flex workspace vacant in the latter, which is experiencing some of the lowest vacancy rates in the UK due to the supply/demand imbalance in the city.
Lucinda Pullinger, managing director, UK, at The Instant Group, said, “The flex sector is continuing to outperform the wider office market reflecting the demand from occupiers for greater agility. A wide range of businesses now recognise the benefits of flexible workspace and the ability to modify workspace requirements based on headcount and utilisation.
“As contractual occupancy rates in flexible workspaces across the UK hit record highs, larger organisations still looking to pivot to a flexible workspace will find it increasingly challenging to find space as supply coming onto the market struggles to keep pace with growing demand. This points to a huge market opportunity for office owners and investors to diversify their assets with flexible products and for operators to expand their flex space offerings to capture the rising demand for flexibility.”
