Demand For Flexible Space On The Rise In Germany

• Research by The Instant Group shows that demand for flexible space in Germany increased by 20% in Q3 2020.
• Its report, ‘Finding the Balance’, reveals that businesses in Germany are now adopting a hub and spoke real estate model.
• Germany is the third largest flex market in Europe with Berlin the flex capital, with 26% market share of all enquiries.

Research by The Instant Group shows that demand for flexible workspace in Germany grew by 79% in the first quarter of 2020 compared to Q1 2019.

Demand also grew by 20% between Q2 and Q3 of 2020, with the top eight cities, including Munich, Cologne and Leipzig, seeing 69% of all flexible workspace demand during the first half of 2020.

Although Berlin remains the flex capital of Germany with 26% market share of all German enquiries, the gap between this market and the next tier is not as pronounced as in other European countries, and demand for flexible office space in other major cities remains strong.

With around 1,000 flex space centres, Germany is now the third largest flex market in Europe, falling just slightly behind the UK and France. Flex space consists of coworking, serviced offices, and hybrid centres that offer both private offices and shared workspaces – in total, flex space amounts to over 196 million square feet of the EMEA office market.

The findings come from The Instant Group’s latest report, Finding the Balance, which explores how Germany will be affected by the global shift to agile workplace solutions in the aftermath of the pandemic, as workers demand safer workspace and a work-life balance. As the largest flex space data aggregator, The Instant Group have utilised their analysts and regional experts, to provide breakthrough insights on the future of the German flex industry.

A key strategy that businesses in Germany and beyond are now considering is the ‘Hub and Spoke’ model which provides employees with the option to work from home, a primary head office, an alternative flex location closer to home – or most likely, a combination of all three. The outcome of this is driving a rise in demand for regional and suburban workspaces.

Florian Kappes, Instant’s Managing Director for Germany, notes: “Initial responses from businesses in Germany show that the COVID-19 crisis has, in fact, accelerated trends around the procurement and management of workspace.

“As workers start to return to the office, we are seeing a rise in the demand for secondary locations as employees are reluctant to commute long distances and are opting to stay closer to home to improve their work-life balance.”

However, with a world-class employee welfare system and a well distributed flex space supply, has Germany already found the balance between work and life? Download Find the Balance to learn more.