Editor: I have followed your articles by Steve Jude, chief executive of NewFlex, on the whys and wherefores of the service office market for many years and have always found him optimistic about the serviced office market competing with, and perhaps taking over, from the traditional market.
His latest comment piece, appears to continue that optimism, but doesn’t mention concerns that occupiers have about social distancing, sharing lifts with strangers or whether they are going to return to work, or work from home.
As an agency that covers both the traditional market, and the serviced and co-working markets, we have seen increased demand for self-contained buildings, where even small companies can manage their own space, when the buildings range from 2,000 sq ft to 7,000 sq ft.
At the time of writing, we have three such buildings under offer, with one just about to complete.
It is natural for any businessman to sell the benefits of his own product, but I don’t see for now that flexi-space has that many upsides.
The real demand for more traditional offices seems to be for the ‘plug and play’ space, and even landlords such as Derwent are offering such commodities, relieving the new tenant of the need to fit out their space at a time when ‘cash is king’.
Anthony Lorenz, managing director, The Lorenz Consultancy
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