The rise of co-working spaces could mean that central London’s office market will lose up to 25 per cent of its value as businesses downsize from expensive locations and move their employees into the suburbs, according to a ratings agency.
Fitch said it had studied a “disruptive” ten-year scenario that considered the prospect of 332,500 employees in central London moving into shared workspaces for four days a week, with 277,000 working in the flexible office spaces in the suburbs and the remaining 56,000 working in the city centre.
Flexible office providers offer ready-made space on short leases for workers, ranging from a single desk to a private office of 50 employees or more, and have become a significant force in the London market, taking up…