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Suburban flex demand strong five years on from Covid

News

Dominic Plaskota

24 March 2025

Offices

Five years on from the Covid-19 pandemic, demand for flex office space in the UK’s tertiary cities and suburban towns has soared and is predicted to continue its upward trajectory.

Research by flex office marketplace The Instant Group UK found the flex market was relatively mature before the pandemic, with the global supply of flex space growing by 15% in the years since the pandemic, while the UK’s supply grew by 4%.

Yet the research nonetheless found demand for flex space had grown significantly in suburban locations close to major cities – for example, Uxbridge, Slough and Romford have seen 88%, 42% and 37% rises in demand between 2019 and 2024, respectively.

In the same period, Solihull near Birmingham has seen a 73% rise, while Livingston, located between Glasgow and Edinburgh in Scotland, has seen a 12% increase in demand.

The Instant Group attributes this to a trend of demand for more localised workspace, which has the potential to benefit smaller cities outside of London and the Big 6 regional cities.

“What we are increasingly seeing in the UK market is the opportunity for people to work their city job from their local community. The record demand we have seen for flex workspace in smaller cities, towns and in the suburbs is illustrative of this growing trend,” said John Duckworth, executive director at The Instant Group.

He added: “The office market is going to continue to evolve and adapt to meet demand over the duration of 2025 – and as flexible working permeates beyond larger cities, consumers will see even more choice than ever before.”

Between 2019 and 2024, London’s share of flex workspace demand decreased from 37% of demand in the UK to 28%, while the rapid growth of demand in the suburbs and small towns helped push demand outside London to 72% of the total.

TIG’s analysis suggests this growth will only accelerate as landlords predict flex will make up more than 30% of their portfolios by 2030 and 80% of existing flex operators expect to expand their portfolios by 2026.

As this trend continues, TIG also expects an increase in the number of mergers and acquisitions in the sector, which will, in turn, mean there will be more larger operators that can offer greater scale.

This will enable landlords to accommodate more occupiers, which are also becoming increasingly space-hungry.

The size of the spaces that businesses are taking in flex increased by more than one-fifth in the five years following the pandemic, showing that larger companies have also started taking up flexible or managed space. In Manchester, London and Liverpool, this trend was even more pronounced, with the size of transactions growing by 58%, 41% and 30%, respectively.

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Five years on from the Covid-19 pandemic, demand for flex office space in the UK’s tertiary cities and suburban towns has soared and is predicted to continue its upward trajectory. Research by flex office marketplace The Instant Group UK found the flex market was relatively mature before the pandemic, with the global supply of flex space growing by 15% in the years since the pandemic, while the UK’s supply grew by 4%. Yet the research nonetheless found demand for flex space had grown significantly in suburban locations close to major cities – for example, Uxbridge, Slough and Romford have seen 88%, 42% and 37% rises in demand between 2019 and 2024, respectively. In the same period, Solihull near Birmingham has seen a 73% rise, while Livingston, located between Glasgow and Edinburgh in Scotland, has seen a 12% increase in demand. The Instant Group attributes this to a trend of demand for more localised workspace, which has the potential to benefit smaller cities outside of London and the Big 6 regional cities. “What we are increasingly seeing in the UK market is the opportunity for people to work their city job from their local community. The record demand we have seen for flex workspace in smaller cities, towns and in the suburbs is illustrative of this growing trend,” said John Duckworth, executive director at The Instant Group. He added: “The office market is going to continue to evolve and adapt to meet demand over the duration of 2025 – and as flexible working permeates beyond larger cities, consumers will see even more choice than ever before.” Between 2019 and 2024, London’s share of flex workspace demand decreased from 37% of demand in the UK to 28%, while the rapid growth of demand in the suburbs and small towns helped push demand outside London to 72% of the total. TIG’s analysis suggests this growth will only accelerate as landlords predict flex will make up more than 30% of their portfolios by 2030 and 80% of existing flex operators expect to expand their portfolios by 2026. As this trend continues, TIG also expects an increase in the number of mergers and acquisitions in the sector, which will, in turn, mean there will be more larger operators that can offer greater scale. This will enable landlords to accommodate more occupiers, which are also becoming increasingly space-hungry. The size of the spaces that businesses are taking in flex increased by more than one-fifth in the five years following the pandemic, showing that larger companies have also started taking up flexible or managed space. In Manchester, London and Liverpool, this trend was even more pronounced, with the size of transactions growing by 58%, 41% and 30%, respectively.