UK flex office market is consolidating, report finds

The report comes as the managed office space supply surged 111 per cent year-on-year and 10.6 per cent quarter-on-quarter, outperforming the 6.1 per cent quarterly growth in serviced office stock, according to Rubberdesk data published in May.

London’s flex office occupancy remains high at 93 per cent, indicating sustained demand.

The report outlines five indicators that the flexible office sector is moving towards institutional-grade recognition.

These include the adoption of standardised performance metrics such as revenue per available unit (RevPAU) and cost-per-desk, as well as the emergence of longer-term, more stable income streams through licences of three years or more.

The sector is also shifting towards hospitality-led operations, with professional teams and ESG reporting becoming the norm.

In addition, capital structures are increasingly aligned with investor interests, particularly through capital-light, profit-share models.

Finally, the study suggests that flexible office space is now being valued and regulated in ways that mirror established assets like hotels and build-to-rent (BTR) housing.

Zoe Ellis-Moore, CEO and founder of Spaces to Places, said: “After years of inflated promises and tech unicorn comparisons, the flexible office sector is undergoing a long overdue reality check. Flex is not a tech play. It is a mature cash flow business rooted in recurring revenues, operational delivery, and customer service.”

“The next wave of success won’t come from those who scale fastest, but from those who operate smartest,” she added.

The report ranks the UK’s top 25 flex providers by number of locations. Regus leads with 202 sites, followed by Spaces (71), Fora (70), Workspace Group (66), and BizSpace (63). WeWork, which was once the sector’s poster child, now operates 34 UK locations.

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