In 2024, 11% more coworking spaces will appear in Moscow than in 2023

With demand for flexible offices recovering, coworking operators have returned to launching new projects. In 2024, the supply of such facilities in Moscow may increase by 11% year-on-year, to 448 thousand sq. m. m. Renting ready-made service spaces helps companies reduce costs for office fit-out, but increasing construction costs and a shortage of sites will limit the expansion of the format, experts say.

In 2024, 46 thousand square meters will be launched in Moscow. m of flexible workspaces, which will lead to an increase in supply in this market by 11% year-on-year, to 448 thousand sq. m. m, Commonwealth Partnership (CMWP) analysts predict. IBC Real Estate expects to open 46.6 thousand square meters. m of coworking space in Moscow, in CORE.XP – 35.9 thousand sq. m. m.

At the end of 2023, according to CMWP, the supply of flexible offices in Moscow increased by only 2.3%, to 402 thousand sq. m. m. The restrained pace was caused by the concentration of some operators on the implementation of the accumulated vacancy in 2022, as well as the closure of sites on 31 thousand sq. m. m, explains the head of the research and analytics department of CMWP Polina Afanasyeva.

Players returned to launching new projects with the restoration of demand. In 2023, the volume of transactions with flexible offices in Moscow more than doubled year-on-year, to 101 thousand sq. m. m, calculated in CMWP. The share of vacant space, according to consultants, decreased from 35% in January 2023 to 13% by the end of December. Service offices have minimal vacancies, the market is again on their side, as in 2019, notes managing partner of the Klyuch chain, David Biniashvili.

The decline in the share of vacant space in classic business centers and the growing costs of finishing the premises encourage some tenants to choose service offices, says Victoria Guseva, director of the office real estate department at Nikoliers. Real estate owners are ready to put their premises under the management of operators for a long period of time, and the end tenant is increasingly interested in a short contract period, adds Irek Allayarov, managing partner of the SOK network.

Traditionally, service spaces are in demand among technology companies and representatives of creative professions, recalls Mr. Allayarov. But in recent years, state-owned companies or structures close to them have begun to show interest in such objects, says Mikhail Brodnikov, managing director of the Space 1 network. At the end of 2022, DOM.RF rented 750 workplaces from the BusinessClub network in the Iskra-Park business center in northern Moscow. In 2023, Samokat, Megamarket and Sberlogistics rented 10 thousand sq. m. from Flexity. m in the former building of the Ministry of Economy on Ovchinnikovskaya embankment.

Despite increased demand for service offices in 2023, rising construction costs will limit further expansion of operators, says director of property relations at Ricci | Offices” Anton Gryaznov.

In his opinion, to reduce financial risks, players will open new facilities primarily for a specific customer (built-to-suit). The development of coworking spaces is also hampered by the lack of suitable space at adequate rates, adds Ivan Guskov, founder of Apollax. Although the general director of the Meeting Point network, Larisa Afanasyeva, points out that the potential of regional markets has practically not been realized, while there is demand for service offices in the regions.

Ricci predicts that in 2024 the volume of office real estate commissioning in Moscow as a whole will will update the record 2014, and with the implementation of all announced projects it can grow four times, to 1.23 million square meters. m. The influx of new supply will give operators of flexible offices new opportunities for openings, notes Kirill Babichenko, head of the owner services department at CORE.XP.

Daria Andrianova