The latest report from Cushman & Wakefield has revealed that London is the most expensive office location in the world for the third year running. Offices in the West End now run to £1,698 per square metre per year, while global property prices have increased 7 per cent of the last year.
Paul Statham, CEO of leading workspace utilisation and space scheduling Condeco Software, comments: “The demand for London as a prestigious global business hub means that the leading brands that are based in the UK are under immense pressure to use their prime real estate as efficiently as they can. Global companies cannot afford not to have a presence in the City, but with office space costing as much as £1,698 per square metre per year, they must ensure this costly space is not wasted.
However a shockingly high percentage of desk and meeting room space is still underused, and in financial services, one of the main tenants of prime real estate, 48 per cent of all seats are unoccupied during the day on average, while meeting spaces are only used 29 per cent of the time.
“Workspaces are becoming increasingly fluid as workers adopt flexible and remote working, companies simply cannot afford to let their space go unused for prolonged periods of time. With global prices continuing to soar, it is imperative they invest in intelligence to provide them with real time data on how their second most costly asset is actually being used.
Failure to do so will see them needlessly haemorrhage vast amounts of capital, severely impacting their ability to grow and the benefits can be seen beyond just savings on costs. More efficient use of space and the creation of a better, enhanced collaborative environment also delivers a powerful boost to staff morale and employee engagement.
