DURBAN - “The flexible workspace (r)evolution is real and it is a global phenomenon, with an average annual growth in the flex space sector of 23 percent from 2013 to the present across the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific.”
This is according to JLL research shared with commercial property brokers and the media at the IWG Property Brokers Round Table hosted at Spaces Atrium on 5th on 7 February 2019.
Regus has built an extensive footprint in secondary and tertiary markets over the last 25 years, whereas other workspace providers are having to urgently change tack to capture these markets.
In London alone almost 800 000 sqm of property was occupied as flex space in 2018, showing the massive potential for smaller markets,” said speaker, Thomas Mundy, Head: Advisory for Sub-Saharan Africa, JLL.
The event, moderated by founder of the SME Movement, York Zucchi, is the first of its kind hosted by IWG Plc. in South Africa.
Founder and Chief Executive of Divercity Property Solutions and self-proclaimed Africa-enthusiast, Sean Godoy, shared soon-to-be-released research he conducted in conjunction with Urban Real Estate Research unit at UCT, on proptech trends in South Africa.
He said, “Proptech solutions aid the efficient use of space in various ways, from providing live measurement of the usage of physical space and utilities in order to reduce wastage, to identifying space that could be temporarily leased on an ‘on demand’ basis. There are significant cross-overs with green or better buildings within this, where connected and live buildings can provide a degree of measurement and control, much of it automated and reactive, never before seen in the built environment. On the macro-level, the connectivity can be applied to a whole city which leads to a smart city.”
Flexible working is a huge disruptor and there exists multiple opportunities through proptech and removing barriers to entry into the flexible property market.