Serviced office take up across the UK continued to gain momentum in 2017 with the full year figures standing at 2.9 million sq ft, reflecting a 157 per cent increase on 2016, according to Savills.
The international real estate advisor notes that the regional markets outside of London and the M25 saw unprecedented growth levels with serviced office take-up totalling 436,063 sq ft in 2017, representing a year-on-year increase of 406 per cent.
In particular, Savills reports that Birmingham saw a surge in serviced office take-up last year with flexible workspace provider Spaces accounting for the largest regional serviced office deal on record taking 76,000 sq ft at The Crossway in the city.
2017 also saw WeWork complete a second deal in Manchester acquiring 44,000 sq ft at One St Peter’s Square and in January 2018 it was reported that Spaces committed to 30,000 sq ft in Edinburgh city centre.
Savills research shows that the London and M25 office markets also witnessed a 141 per cent and 112 per cent rise respectively in serviced office take-up in 2017 with figures reaching 2.7 million sq ft and 278,495 sq ft.
Cal Lee, head of Workthere, comments: “The UK serviced office market continues to expand at pace and this increased demand is underlined by the likes of WeWork and Spaces taking such substantial space in key regional markets where they foresee growth. It is also interesting that we are witnessing more independent brands such as Work.life looking to grow their portfolio outside of London (in Reading and Manchester). Many of these markets are still under resourced in terms of supply when it comes to serviced and co-working spaces and we therefore foresee the take-up in this sector retaining its momentum throughout 2018.”
Jeremy Bates, head of UK & European Occupier Services at Savills, adds: “The office landscape has changed dramatically over recent years and will continue to do so as the presence of serviced offices become more integrated with the traditional office market. Moving forward it is likely that we will see a greater blurring of the lines between conventional and more flexible space as the demand for flexibility and innovation from occupies continues to grow.”
