Has co-working gone from hero to villain to antihero?

While the serviced-office sector has existed for decades, over the past 10 years or so since the global financial crisis, flexible-office space has leaped to the forefront of the world’s leading office markets and mushroomed in key cities around the world. Millions of square feet of prime locations in the most sought-after cities have been taken up by flexible offices. The world’s premier office markets — London and New York City — have led the way and provide an indication of how other office markets, particularly those in Asia, will embrace the flexible-office trend.

In London, flexible-workplace operators occupy approximately 10.7 million square feet, which is equivalent to about 4 percent of Central London office stock. WeWork is the largest office tenant in both Central London and New York City, with roughly 8.9 million square feet of office space and more than 100 locations in Manhattan. In 2017, co-working spaces accounted for 17 percent of all office net absor