New data reveals popularity of shared working spaces in UK

Since the beginning of the year, four of the top five performing flexible office space brands saw an average year-on-year (YoY) increase of almost 60 per cent (57.03%) in online search volumes, bucking the trend for the property sector overall which saw a decrease of 6.48 per cent in the same period.

Leading the way were searches for ‘Runway East’ (up 188.15%) and ‘Workspace’ (searches up 27.73%). They were followed by ‘Spaces’ and ‘Work.Life’, which also saw increases in search volumes of 8.16 per cent and 4.08 per cent, respectively. Only ‘WeWork’ saw a decrease in the top five, with searches down 4.79 per cent compared to the same period in 2022.

The data comes from analysis of Google search data by digital marketing specialist MediaVision. Additionally searches for ‘office space rental’ were up 65.95 per cent YoY, while ‘office rental space’ increased by 34.5 per cent. Unsurprisingly, ‘office space to rent in London’ has increased by a huge 166.32 per cent. Meanwhile, searches for ‘coworking space’ have seen a small increase of 1.78 per cent.

The rise of shared working spaces aligns with changing attitudes towards work, with a growing number of UK workers preferring a hybrid working model that includes both remote and office-based work. A recent survey by IWG found that 74 per cent of UK workers prefer this approach.

The popularity of shared working spaces is also reflected in the Q4 results of major players in the industry. CBRE Workplace Solutions saw a 9.8 per cent positive revenue change and a 12.8 per cent positive net revenue change YoY in its Q4 results.

Similarly, WeWork reported occupancy rebounding to 81 per cent at the end of last year compared with 63 per cent a year prior, indicating a strong recovery in demand.

Louis Venter, CEO at MediaVision said, “the popularity of shared working spaces continues to surge, driven by the changing needs of workers and the increasing flexibility of modern workplaces. And we’ve seen the major players in the industry reporting positive results and high occupancy rates.

“There’s no doubt that the UK’s workforce continues to evolve and adapt to new ways of working. It will be interesting to see if more ‘traditional’ office space opens to co-working and flexible working over the coming months and beyond.

“By identifying these search behaviours now, we are able to use them as a predictive measure for what movements we are going to see in the property sector in the coming months. Search is a great indicator of future trends, and a more 'honest' barometer of intent than other forms of research.”

MediaVision's data is based on the analysis of UK search data from AdWords and Google Trends using its proprietary Digital Demand Tracker tool, part of the Metis technology that produces search insights four times faster than standard industry SEO tools. The data was collected from 1st January until 2nd April 2023.

More News
10 hours ago
How the financial sector can win the cyber war
It’s no secret that cybersecurity has a significant skills shortage. Research from Swimlane shows that 82 per cent of organisations take three months or longer to fill a cybersecurity role, with 34 per cent reporting it takes seven months or more.
12 hours ago
ASSA ABLOY Door Group hails fire door inspections
Door Group, a division of ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions UK & Ireland, is calling for a higher calibre of fire door inspections this Fire Door Safety Week, after research found a third (32%) of the British public would not report a problem with a fire door, putting lives at risk.
14 hours ago
The most common causes of fire in workplace revealed
Each year, there are thousands of workplace fires recorded across the UK, many of which could have been avoided if the correct fire safety procedures had been followed, and the right passive fire protection products had been in place.
1 day ago
Abloy UK reinforces importance of access control compliance
Abloy UK has reinforced the importance of fire door compliance after new government statistics revealed a sharp and shocking increase in the number of fires in England.
1 day ago
Nearly 1/5 UK employees feel undervalued at work
A new report has found that almost a fifth of UK employees, around 5.5 million people, feel undervalued at work.
1 day ago
Optibac Probiotics selects Fresh Relevance for cross-channel experiences
Fresh Relevance, a Dotdigital company, has been selected by Optibac Probiotics for its personalisation platform to power personalised experiences for its customers across emails and the website.
1 day ago
Snom Technology listed in Highly Trusted Companies 2023 study
In the ‘Highly Trusted Companies 2023’ study, Snom Technology, experts in the telecommunications industry, has been recognised as an outstanding company that customers in Germany and beyond can trust.
2 days ago
Cradlepoint 5G outdoor adaptor re-designed
Cradlepoint, experts in cloud-delivered LTE and 5G wireless network edge solutions has announced the re-designed outdoor Cradlepoint W1855-5GC Wideband Adaptor.
2 days ago
Zyxel Networks and Intec Micros scale Snowdon for charity
A group of eleven employees from Zyxel Networks and distributor Intec Micros recently took part in a six-hour hike up Yr Wyddfa (Mount Snowden) in Wales to raise funds for Birmingham Children's Hospital.
3 days ago
UK IT professionals flag audio quality as gap in hybrid work success
Shure, a manufacturer of audio solutions, commissioned market research firm, IDC, to conduct a study that investigates the hurdles organisations are facing as they implement hybrid working.

Login / Sign up