Cushman & Wakefield European Survey: German employees have the most spacious offices

12 Jul, 2006, Frankfurt

Throughout Europe, German office workers enjoy the greatest office space allocation with an average allocation of 30 m² per person; more than double the European average of 14 m². Coming in at second are the Netherlands, Scandinavia and Switzerland with an average of 20 m² office space per person, whilst Bulgaria, Estonia and Scotland bring up the rear with an average of 10 m² allocated per person.
The most generous employers for office space provision in Europe are lawyers, allocating an average of 17 m² to each employee. This is followed by banks and IT companies which both offer employees an allocation of around 14 m². European employees allocated the least amount of space are those working in call centres.

These are the findings of the “Business Briefing on Landlords & Tenants”, the most recent study conducted by international real estate consultancy organisation Cushman & Wakefield (C&W). Five hundred landlords and tenants in fourteen European countries were asked questions about the office space that they own or are leasing and on trends that are set to change use of space, including technological changes and sustainability requirements (Corporate Social Responsibility – CSR). According to Robert Menke, Head of C&W’s Office Agency in Germany, “This research highlights the areas where landlords and tenants differ in their opinions and requirements. It allows us to identify trends and better tailor our advisory services to requirements.” The study has shown, for instance, that the number of open-plan offices is on the increase. 40% of those surveyed stated that they wanted to expand their open-plan offices within the next twelve months, and 20% intend introducing more flexible working conditions, such as hot-desking or remote working.
Two thirds of those surveyed already employ a mixture of open-plan and private offices – 22% are purely open-plan whereas only 9% work in cellular offices.

The most important factors when choosing a location

The majority of landlords surveyed stated that their ideal location for an office would be the town centre, whereas tenants professed to prefer the outskirts.
However, both landlords and tenants were in agreement on the importance of the following factors: good local public transport links (no. 1), a clean and safe environment (no. 2) and good accessibility for cars (no. 3).
In terms of building requirements, there was a significant difference in the opinions of tenants and landlords: For instance, a large, impressive lobby and architectural qualities feature high on the list of landlords’ requirements, whereas controlled building access, health and safety are of greater importance for tenants.
Opinions on the ideal lease term also differ: Tenants stated a preferred lease term of between three and five years, whereas 40% of landlords gave a five- to ten-year lease as the ideal term with 30% preferring ten years or more. Rober Menke adds, “We were somewhat surprised by the importance attached to wireless IT technologies in office buildings. For landlords, this factor is the least important (10^th place) whereas for tenants, it ranks in at no. 8. With this in mind, landlords would be well advised to stay on the ball and ensure that their building stays up-to-date and compatible with the latest IT technology; otherwise, they may lose out on tenants.”

By and large, landlords and tenants agreed on the factors expected to have the greatest influence on space requirements over the next five years. Both groups placed cost cutting in first place with the consolidation of existing office space and relocation of back office functions to less expensive locations ranking second or third depending on group.

Average office space leased per office worker in Europe (m²)

Country	Average space leased per office worker in m²
Belgium	12
Bulgaria	10
Denmark	20
Germany	30
Estonia	10
Finland	20
France	17
Greece	12
UK – Central London	16
UK – Regional	14
UK – Scotland	10
Ireland	12
Italy	20
Netherlands	20
Norway	20
Austria	12
Poland	14
Portugal	12.5
Romania	14
Russia	14
Sweden	18
Switzerland	20
Slovakia	15
Spain	15
Czech Republic	12
Hungary	12

Source: Cushman & Wakefield

Average ideal lease term for tenants and landlords within Europe

Country	Tenants	Landlords
Belgium	3 - 5 years	+10 years
Germany	3 - 5 years	5 - 10 years
Greece	5 - 10 years	+10 years
UK	5 - 10 years	+10 years
Poland	3 - 5 years	5 - 10 years
Russia	3 - 5 years	5 - 10 years
Czech Republic	3 - 5 years	+10 years
Hungary	3 - 5 years	5 - 10 years

Source: Cushman & Wakefield

Factors most likely to influence space requirements over the next five years

Factors most likely to influence space requirements over the next five years	Ranking of most important factors for landlords	Ranking of most important factors for tenants
Cost cutting	1	1
Consolidation of existing office space	3	2
Relocation of back office functions to less expensive locations	2	3
Reductions in per capita office space	4	4
Changeover to wireless technology	5	=5
Increase in home-working	6	=5

1 = Highly important/ 10 = Unimportant
Source: Cushman & Wakefield

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