Coworking grows 20% in Europe, taking up 10% of office space in the region

This article was written and published in Spanish and has been translated into English via Google Translate. Click here to read the original article.

The contracting of office space by coworking operators has increased by 20% in Europe in 2018, according to the European Flexible Office Spotlight report prepared by Savills and Workthere. The study indicates that the main capitals of Europe, such as London and Paris, will see a greater increase in demand. Barcelona and Madrid are ranked 12th and 13th in the ranking of demand for this type of workspace prepared by the consultancy.

Savills expects smaller capitals, such as Dublin, Stockholm, Warsaw, and secondary cities in mature markets, such as Hamburg, Frankfurt and Birmingham, to experience strong demand for flexible offices.

Eri Mitsostergiou, director of Research Europe at Savills, explains that "in our analysis, we have identified the main cities in which demand is expected to increase, taking into account a set of criteria related to economic growth, job creation, innovation and the real estate market. It is not surprising that London, Paris and Berlin are at the top of the ranking, as they attract 80% of venture capital investments among monitored cities."

However, the report reveals that cities outside the three major European powers (France, United Kingdom and Germany) are among the top ten. The study indicates that Stockholm is the European city where the highest percentage of hiring by operators of this type of workspaces was recorded in 2018, with 24.8% of the total market of the city.

Brussels, with 22%, and the West End of London, with 21% of the total, are in the second and third place, respectively. They are followed by Birmingham with 15%, the financial center of Paris with 14.8%, Warsaw with 12.9%, the City of London with 12% and Dublin with 11%.

In the case of Spain, Barcelona is above the average for contracting for coworking, with almost 10% of the total absorption in 2018. In turn, Madrid registered 9.4% of the total. Forecasts indicate that the demand for this type of space continues to rise in the two main cities of Spain.

Savills expects the popularity of the flexible office sector to intensify as it diversifies its offer. "We believe that cities with dynamic economies, which attract innovation and talent, may experience an increase in the demand for flexible offices of up to 15% in the medium term," the consultancy says. "In the long term, the data could increase to 20-25%, especially in periods of greater economic expansion and business investment," he says.

This article was written and published in Spanish and has been translated into English via Google Translate. Click here to read the original article.

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