Knotel
The amount of flexible office space is the US is expected to grow.
- Flexible space, or flex space, is a term used to describe the flexible use of space in industrial or commercial buildings to boost portfolio flexibility, increase collaboration, and lower occupancy costs, according to the real estate services firm Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL).
- A recent study by the real-estate company CBRE found that, as of the second quarter of 2019, the 10 largest flex space operators in the US make up 68% of the nation's 71 million-square-foot flex space market.
- The study found that WeWork is currently the largest flex space with a total of 23.4 million square feet of flexible space.
- The other nine largest contenders, together, total over 24 million square feet of flex office space.
- According to the study's mid-growth scenario, by 2030, flexible office space could make up around 13% of the United States' total office supply.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
While WeWork is again dominating headlines for a leadership shake-up, the coworking giant is notably the largest flex space operator in the US with, as of the second quarter of 2019, a total of 23.4 million square feet of flexible space.
Flex space is a term used to describe the flexible use of space in industrial or commercial buildings to boost portfolio flexibility, increase collaboration, and lower occupancy costs, according to the real estate services firm Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL). These spaces often house coworking spaces, executive suites, or incubators.
According to a recent study by the real-estate company CBRE, as of the second quarter of 2019, there is 71 million square feet of flexible office space in the US - a number that has increased by over 600% since 2010.
According to the study's mid-growth scenario, by 2030, flexible office space could make up around 13% of the United States' total office supply. However, currently, it accounts for less than 2% of the nation's total office inventory.
Read more: How WeWork spiraled from a $47 billion valuation to talk of bankruptcy in just 6 weeks
And, while it's no surprise that WeWork has taken the number one spot, according to CBRE, the other nine largest contenders total 24.7 million square feet of flex office space and saw over 3 million square feet of year-over-year growth.
The flex space market is expected to grow.
WeWork's biggest competition in terms of size is Regus, a multinational company that provides office and meeting spaces to clients, which ranked number two with a total of 12.4 million square feet of flex office space in the US.
Next on the list, over 9 million square feet less than Regus, is Spaces, another multinational coworking company. Currently, Spaces has a total of 3.8 million square feet of flexible office space in the US.
Though Spaces ranked number three, it was the second largest year-over-year growth, adding 1.63 million square feet of space to its US portfolio since the second quarter of 2018.
Each of the next seven contenders have a total square footage that falls under 3 million. They include Knotel, Industrious, Convene, Novel Coworking, Premier Workspaces, MakeOffices, and Carr Workplaces.
According to CBRE, these top 10 contenders make up 68% of the nation's flex space market.