Co-working spaces caved in to work – Newspaper Kommersant No. 167 (7368) of 09/12/2022
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The presence of unused office real estate on the market and the desire of tenants to conclude contracts with flexible terms stimulated a sharp growth in the coworking segment. The commissioning of such spaces in January-August exceeded the figure for the entire last year by more than 30% and became a record. But some coworking operators are cautious about expansion due to the growth of vacancy in the segment due to tougher competition and the withdrawal of foreign companies from the market.
Based on the results of January-August 2022, 15 new co-working spaces with an area of 104,000 sq. m. were commissioned in Moscow. m. This is 30.4% higher than the figure for all of 2021 and exceeds all annual results of previous observation periods, according to a study by Knight Frank. So, in 2019, 53 thousand square meters were commissioned. m of flexible offices. Until the end of this year, according to the calculations of consultants, the commissioning of 33 more co-working spaces with an area of 143 thousand square meters has been announced. m. Thus, by the end of 2022, the total commissioning of space may reach 247 thousand sq. m. Becar Asset Management also pays attention to a clear increase in the commissioning of co-working spaces, where 270 thousand square meters are expected to appear at the end of the year. m of new space. Nikoliers talks about 221 thousand sq. m. m.
According to Knight Frank, Moscow now has 366,000 sq. m. m of coworking spaces – about 2% of the total volume of offices. The active growth of the flexible format is largely taking place against the backdrop of a decline in the classic office segment. Knight Frank calculated that in the first eight months of this year, only 40,000 sq. m. m of offices, which was one of the lowest figures in the history of observations. And co-working operators are actively developing premises in existing business centers against the backdrop of rising vacancy over the past two years.
The activity of coworking operators is partially fueled by requests from building owners who do not know what to do with empty space, says Olga Sharygina, vice president of Becar Asset Management. Although, she adds, operators are more demand driven.
Maria Zimina, director of office real estate at Knight Frank Russia, clarifies that many tenants “reduce the planning horizon and look for options with more flexible conditions for entering and exiting the contract.” The average rental period for coworking spaces is two to three years, compared to three to five years in the classic office segment, she points out. According to Ms. Zimina, such facilities are often located in key business districts.
Georgy Golenev, CEO of the Klyuch co-working network, confirms that the company receives many offers due to the high latent vacancy of the office market as a whole: “Operators occupy the released space with ready repairs or even buy out the contracts of players leaving the market.” He calls the conversion of classic office space into flexible with the help of operators one of the vectors of development in the market. For owners, it is often more efficient to give the premises to the management of specialized tenants, adds Irek Allayarov, managing partner of the SOK network. It’s not easy to manage flex spaces on your own, he says.
“Key”, according to Mr. Golenev, carefully approaches the choice of locations. “The commercial real estate market has become a buyer’s market again,” he points out. Karina Anaevskaya, director of the office real estate department at Nikoliers, notes that young coworking operators are actively introducing new sites, while more experienced players choose a restrained strategy, focusing on the needs of specific tenants. Although the managing partner of the BusinessClub network, Murad Damirov, says that professional operators are also expanding their portfolio now.
The cautious strategy of some market participants is easily explained given the growing vacancy in the segment. If in May, according to Knight Frank, 23% of co-working spaces were free, then in August – already 29%. The average cost of a workplace for the same period remained virtually unchanged, remaining at the level of 39.9 thousand rubles. per month. Maria Zimina connects such dynamics mainly with the opening of new sites. And Olga Sharygina explains the increase in vacancy by the departure of foreign tenants and the closure of small local IT companies.
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