27. März 2009 
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C&W study: Office workers close the gap
Office workers throughout Europe are becoming closer. According to the latest European Landlord & Tenant Survey 2009 carried out by Cushman & Wakefield (C&W), more than half of Europe’s landlords and tenants have already begun to develop and implement plans to use their office space more efficiently. “Over the next twelve months, staff consolidations and reductions will have a significant impact on real estate consultancy as the economic crisis forces tenants and landlords to reduce their costs,” C&W concluded from the results of the survey.
750 landlords and tenants from around Europe took part in the survey. 40% of tenants polled had already begun to make more intensive use of their office space and more than a third of respondents wanted to concentrate on reducing their space next year.
The average amount of office space used per employee in Europe fell from 12.8 square metres to 12.4 square metres. To date, the smallest reductions have been identified in Germany, where 51% of respondents were using larger than average office spaces: 24% of employees polled said that they used 12.5 to 15 square metres per colleague, with 27% even using 15 to 17.5 square metres. “Although the number of German businesses polled is not large in relation to 750 across the whole of Europe,” explains Jörg Ettmann, head of office space leasing at C&W in Germany, “the results of the survey still reflect the actual situation which we face every day in our consultations: there is still usually great potential for the more efficient use of space in German offices.”
There is also dormant potential in the way that space is being used. At 30%, Germany continues to have the highest number of private offices (European average: 11%). At 6%, Germany has fewer open plan offices with shared desks (European average: 15%). 30% of office tenants use a combination of open plan and private offices (European average 45%).
Both landlords and tenants are trying to use their property to cushion themselves from the effects of the financial crisis. Expecting rents to fall, almost half of tenants thought they would be able to renegotiate their lease agreements and a third thought they would be able to sub-let any unused space. While subletting was the most popular solution for British companies wishing to reduce their leasing costs, western and central European companies favoured the renegotiation of their lease agreements.
On the topic of falling lease prices, more than half of office building owners expect to have to offer more incentives to close lease agreements in future, while only 37% are expecting lease prices to drop.
Sustainability remains a central theme despite the economic downturn
Around 40% of companies answered that the sustainability of property had become more important to them, while sustainability had become less important to 5%. More than half of southern European companies have since begun to focus on environmental topics, whereas these were not a priority for eastern European countries and Russia in particular. In total, 53% of owners and tenants were prepared to pay up to 5% more for a sustainable building; 4% would accept cost increases of up to 10%.
The most important criteria for European landlords and tenants
Proximity to public transport links and accessibility by car are the most important criteria for both landlords and tenants. Energy efficiency, natural light and wireless technology are other important considerations for both groups and have become even more so. Natural light remains the most important selling point of a building.
Other significant criteria for selecting a property are security, an uninterrupted supply of energy and plenty of telephone and data connections. With growing pressure to cut back on space, office layouts are increasingly changing to a combination of open plan and private offices. 45% of respondents to the survey answered that they favoured a combined layout, with desk sharing and flexible work areas becoming more popular.
750 landlords and tenants from around Europe took part in the survey. 40% of tenants polled had already begun to make more intensive use of their office space and more than a third of respondents wanted to concentrate on reducing their space next year.
The average amount of office space used per employee in Europe fell from 12.8 square metres to 12.4 square metres. To date, the smallest reductions have been identified in Germany, where 51% of respondents were using larger than average office spaces: 24% of employees polled said that they used 12.5 to 15 square metres per colleague, with 27% even using 15 to 17.5 square metres. “Although the number of German businesses polled is not large in relation to 750 across the whole of Europe,” explains Jörg Ettmann, head of office space leasing at C&W in Germany, “the results of the survey still reflect the actual situation which we face every day in our consultations: there is still usually great potential for the more efficient use of space in German offices.”
There is also dormant potential in the way that space is being used. At 30%, Germany continues to have the highest number of private offices (European average: 11%). At 6%, Germany has fewer open plan offices with shared desks (European average: 15%). 30% of office tenants use a combination of open plan and private offices (European average 45%).
| Region | UK and Ireland | Western Europe | Southern Europe | Central Europe | Average | |
| Average office space in m² per office worker in 2009 | 11.6 | 13.7 | 12.9 | 10.9 | 12.4 | |
| Average office space in m² per office worker in 2007 | 12.1 | 14.9 | 12.4 | 12.0 | 12.8 |
Both landlords and tenants are trying to use their property to cushion themselves from the effects of the financial crisis. Expecting rents to fall, almost half of tenants thought they would be able to renegotiate their lease agreements and a third thought they would be able to sub-let any unused space. While subletting was the most popular solution for British companies wishing to reduce their leasing costs, western and central European companies favoured the renegotiation of their lease agreements.
On the topic of falling lease prices, more than half of office building owners expect to have to offer more incentives to close lease agreements in future, while only 37% are expecting lease prices to drop.
Sustainability remains a central theme despite the economic downturn
Around 40% of companies answered that the sustainability of property had become more important to them, while sustainability had become less important to 5%. More than half of southern European companies have since begun to focus on environmental topics, whereas these were not a priority for eastern European countries and Russia in particular. In total, 53% of owners and tenants were prepared to pay up to 5% more for a sustainable building; 4% would accept cost increases of up to 10%.
The most important criteria for European landlords and tenants
Proximity to public transport links and accessibility by car are the most important criteria for both landlords and tenants. Energy efficiency, natural light and wireless technology are other important considerations for both groups and have become even more so. Natural light remains the most important selling point of a building.
Other significant criteria for selecting a property are security, an uninterrupted supply of energy and plenty of telephone and data connections. With growing pressure to cut back on space, office layouts are increasingly changing to a combination of open plan and private offices. 45% of respondents to the survey answered that they favoured a combined layout, with desk sharing and flexible work areas becoming more popular.
