In selected cases, demand even exceeded the pre-covid period. Thanks to this, the offer of flexible offices, which currently amounts to almost 106,000 m2, will grow this year and next. In addition to Prague and Brno, the expansion also affects other cities.
According to the most important players in the flexible office market, recent months have shown the stabilization and gradual growth of this segment. New companies are appearing among clients. These are often larger corporations, which are an important source of income for many operators, given the length of the lease and the size of the leased space.
Scott.Weber Workspace - City Element
The return, or arrival, of larger companies to coworkings for most operators of these spaces also means greater diversification of the membership base. The share of corporate clients, ie companies with more than 500 employees, varies from operator to operator: for example, IWG, which operates Spaces centers, or WeWork confirm that large, often multinational corporations currently account for 60-75% of leases.
"Other operators such as HubHub or WorkLounge continue to build their business on small and medium-sized companies, often individual-freelancers. This group can often make up to 90% of the members. And it requires real flexibility in rental terms, ”says Kamila Breen, head of consulting and market research at BNP Paribas Real Estate.
All the largest players addressed agree that their clients and users also came up with new requirements on the basis of lockdown and pandemic measures. If closed offices were popular before the first wave in spring 2020, demand for them has now risen sharply. At the same time, a completely new trend is the rental of single-seat offices - which surprisingly also applies to the mentioned corporations.
There is further agreement on technological innovation. Operators are investing in an even more comfortable reservation system, video conferencing facilities and other self-service processes. All improvements lead to even greater flexibility in terms of operation and rental relationship between the operator and the client.
"Customers currently require as few meters as possible, the shortest possible rentals and as few commitments as possible. In this, coworkings still have a great advantage over the classic form of office rental, "concludes Kamila Breen.
Most coworking centers are located in Prague (35) with a total area of 45,900 m2. The second most important coworking center is Brno with 14 centers and a total area of 9,500 m2. The offer of flexible spaces is complemented by serviced offices, of which there are 30 in the Czech Republic with a total area of 42,580 m2.
Wool - Clubco
The recently published plans of some developers are proof of the continuing interest in flexible workspaces. While the CTP development company has already opened its Clubco coworking center (2,000 m2) in the Vlněn business center in Brno, the PasserInvest developer owns flexible and coworking premises called FLEKSI with a total area of 3,000 m2 as part of its Prague project BB Centrum will not open until November this year.
At the beginning of July, Skanska then announced the closure of its Business Link coworking center, which was, however, taken over by Scott Weber Workspace thanks to a strategic partnership. Among other things, it plans to operate 13 centers with a total area of more than 35,000 m2 by 2023. An equally interesting novelty is the expansion of the Impact Hub chain, which together with NWT is preparing the opening of a seven-storey Silo II center powered by Impact Hub with an area of 5,000 m2 in Zlín in the autumn of this year.
Source: // Retrend
