A Road-map to The New Office Landscape

With the release from having to work from home looming and many businesses and employees thinking about the big return to the office, Abode2 asks Robin Lester, Metspace, for his insight into the new office landscape for the future.

Now Director at Metspace, Robin Lester is a chartered surveyor with over 20 years of commercial property experience in the West End office market, Robin worked for DTZ corporate advisory firm for nearly 10 years before joining Metrus in 2009 where he’s still a director today. With a distinctly non-corporate outlook and lifestyle, Robin enjoys engaging with people and takes a creative approach to business. Day to day, Robin is responsible for acquiring new spaces and building the MetSpace portfolio.

“The pandemic has truly shaken the commercial property market to its core. With unpaid commercial rent bills from March 2020 to June 2021 expected to hit £7 billion, it’s highly likely the market will never look the same again. Added to this, the current climate has enabled businesses to reassess what’s important to their company culture and staff. Notably, striking a balance between home and work life, which we expect will result in working from home to stay for the long-term, at least in some capacity."

“Some larger businesses now find themselves needing to downsize office space considerably, given that not all employees will be present at the same time. We founded MetSpace to deliver these new spaces for businesses. All our office rates are all inclusive, meaning that each space offers a fully furnished, highly designed office, separate meeting room and fully equipped kitchen, bathroom, WiFi, telephone line and all business rates. This makes MetSpace a truly competitive option when compared to other office solutions out there, including co-working spaces. Rates work out to be almost 30% more affordable than competitors, whilst offering a more sophisticated, flexible and manageable solution to your business’ office, meaning you can better manage cash flow and avoid the risk of traditional long leases in this uncertain climate."

Adapting to today’s climate, in particular social distancing and remote working, doesn’t however stop at downsizing, but rethinking business models to support the preferences of staff. More and more companies are now moving away from a centralised corporate HQ that is unlikely to ever be full again. In their place, an ecosystem of multiple offices spread across strategic locations, with all of the amenities and facilities needed under one roof, to help their workforces thrive.

“We design our spaces to enhance the employee experience creating environments that promote wellbeing and drive collaboration. Serviced offices come fully furnished and all under one monthly bill covering anything from internet bills to administration teams. This takes away the headache of managing, organising and budgeting for office essentials.

“But we don’t just work with businesses. For landlords, partnering with MetSpace offers a platform to access the increasingly flexible occupier market, enabling them to occupy the gap between conventional offices, serviced offices and co-working spaces. This provides the landlord with resilience and security, and the ability to adapt to market conditions, such as the pandemic this year, whilst enjoying the financial benefits of the flexible office market.”

After the last year, we have all adapted our lives, behaviours and how and where we work. As the great unlocking of society starts, only time will tell if and how the workspaces and offices we knew may be changed forever.