The trend for co-working has led to the emergence of a number of key players who have dominated the London market and who are now slowly making their way to the UK’s regions.

For many, this way of working had been the preserve of start-ups and trendy tech firms who thrive on collaboration and free beer on tap. However we are increasingly seeing corporate businesses using this type of space for flexible working. As a result, landlords are now harnessing this shift to boost their offer, reduce voids, push up quoting rents and most importantly create a buzz.

There are already several examples in the Thames Valley. Central Working has recently taken space at M&G’s R+ building, as well as U+I and Ashby Capital’s Future Works building in Slough. Meanwhile, Spaces now occupies the ground floor of Landid & Brockton scheme, the Porter Building, also in Slough.

These operators join the many others setting up shop in these locations. As a result, the serviced office sector has increased in both these markets, accounting for as much as 37 per cent of take-up this year to date, compared with 24 per cent in the whole of 2017.

In fact, we’ve seen top professional accountancy firms suggest that over the next five years they’ll require a percentage of the space they occupy to be within a co-working environment. For this reason they will only take a conventional lease where this kind of operator is already in the building.

So why has this traditionally conservative market bought into the trend? It’s no secret that the way we work has shifted dramatically in recent years: from hot-desking to the concept of the office contributing to wellness, we have seen some significant changes. While large floor plates might remain at the top of some occupiers’ lists of requirements, many are also now looking for strong amenity offers and creative atmospheres.

This is where serviced office providers can help. Not only do they give occupiers the option to take less conventional space and offer flexibility when it comes to headcount, but they can also breathe life into a more traditional working environment. By incorporating this kind of space into a typical multi-let development you are enabling collaboration, while also securing possible future leases as firms graduate to more permanent accommodation.

The Thames Valley and surrounding areas offer a rich talent pool across the technology, professional and pharmaceutical industries. With locations such as Reading and Slough leading the way, other towns in the region such as Guildford, Basingstoke and Maidenhead, which have a high number of starts-ups, according to data from Start-up Britain, would almost certainly benefit from this kind of co-working environment.

In short, we predict that take-up of serviced office space outside London is set to grow by as much as 14 per cent this year, so we can expect to see more landlords in the South East integrating co-working into their schemes moving forward.

Further information

Read more: Greater London & South East Office Market Watch