FMJ Facilities Management magazine providing industry-specific intelligence to FM and property professionals
Office landlords in the UK are turning to flexible or coworking spaces when converting existing offices into new types of real estate, according to new research by workspace provider, infinitSpace.
The independent survey of 250 UK Office landlords has revealed that repurposing traditional office space into flexible or coworking space was the most popular type of conversion (11 per cent), ahead of hospitality (10 per cent), retail outlets (8 per cent), and residential property (7 per cent).
This comes as a quarter (23 per cent) of landlords have converted their traditional office space into flexible or coworking spaces over the past two years, and one-in-five (22 per cent) plan to do the same in the coming two years.
When questioned about their greatest motivations for converting into a flexible workspace, over half (57 per cent) of landlords said that aligning with current market trends was the most popular answer.
This was followed by keeping pace with competitors (54 per cent), enhancing the value of their property (43 per cent), maximising revenue from empty or underutilised space (40 per cent), and futureproofing assets (35 per cent).
Wybo Wijnbergen, CEO of infinitSpace, said: “If it wasn’t already clear, these results show that the traditional office model has and will continue to evolve rapidly. As many traditional office spaces face low occupancy rates, it has never been more important for office landlords to adapt.
“So, it’s positive to see that most landlords recognise the importance of upgrading their portfolio to keep pace with the rapidly evolving demands of UK office workers – as well as of of course boosting revenues and property values. For many, that looks like converting into flex space.”
The FM industry is evolving quicker than ever before, and so are the demands of the customers it serves.
To help shed light on some of the trends that are shaping the sector, Biological Preparations, a leading UK biotech company, is conducting a survey in collaboration with FMJ to identify the sustainability priorities and challenges amongst FM leaders.
This five-minute, anonymous FM-focused survey, offers FM professionals of all hierarchies with a platform to voice their perspectives and share their experiences.
As a thank you for taking part in the survey you will be entered into a prize draw to win £250 worth of Amazon vouchers.
To share your experiences, please click here.
