Companies are looking for hybrid solutions and plug & play offices, according to the latest Office Pulse study by Savills, corresponding to the third quarter of 2023, which was presented in Barcelona.
Plug & play offices, a growing trend
In relation to office demand, Savills’ data point to three trends marked by the macro situation. On the one hand, a greater interest in plug & play offices: spaces already in place that allow the tenant to speed up the decision and changeover process and save costs.
What are plug & play offices?
Plug & play offices are those that we consider ready to be occupied. Not only with partitions and furniture, but also wired and equipped in offices. When a company moves to another location, leaving its former office fully assembled, another will take advantage of it. The positive thing is that it implies a low installation cost and above all time savings.
How is it different from a Cowork? While plug & play offices are a conventional contract, with the office already set up and equipped, a Cowork offers a service, which involves the total management of supplies for example.
- The E of Environmental encompasses the effect that companies’ activities have on the environment.
- The S for Social includes the impact that a given company has on its social environment, on the community.
- The G of Governance refers to the company’s corporate governance, for example, transparency policies in its public information, the diversity of its workforce or its codes of conduct.
“From offices of 1,000 square meters and up, practically all companies are demanding that the assets have a seal of quality and sustainability,” said Ángel Estebaranz, national director of offices at Savills, at the presentation of the study. Finally, the third trend highlighted by this study is flexibility. In this sense, more and more companies are looking for hybrid solutions when hiring workspace, requesting part of the surface area under the traditional rental model while another part is hired under flexible models, for coworking or flex space in private offices and with services included.
The office market in Madrid and Barcelona
The same study explains that the office market in Madrid has performed better than expected between July and September, with the accumulated gross take-up for the year at levels in line with the average for the historical series, with 370,000 sqm. Barcelona, on the other hand, after a faster recovery in 2021 and 2022, has shown less dynamism so far this year, with 155,000 sq m of office space under contract to date, a figure 30% below the average for the historical series. In terms of areas, both in Madrid and Barcelona, the city center is the main focus of attraction thanks to the refurbishment of office buildings.
