West End most expensive location in London to work in a serviced office space

It is not about location, but supply

Knight Frank, the global property adviser, has created the first ‘Serviced Office Submarkets’ research, an inaugural map of the costs of serviced office space in London by location. The research shows the average cost of a single desk in a serviced office space per month. 

There are some startling differences in cost across the capital, with a difference of over £1,000 per desk being found between the highest and lowest submarkets. In the West End the cost of a serviced office desk can be as high as £1,500 per month, whilst the starting price in this area (£900) is double the price of one in the Eastern and Northern fringes of central London, where the same desk could be found starting from £450.

It is not about location, but supply. Less central locations such as Canary Wharf do not provide a cost saving on central London – they are on a par with rents on the Southbank, and more than those in the City. This is almost certainly due to the demand for serviced office space vastly outstripping the supply as there is a severe lack of supply of serviced office space in Canary Wharf.

Amanda Lim, Head of Flexible Office Solutions at Knight Frank said: “There has been a structural change in how people are regarding real estate solutions – flexible office solutions are no longer just for start-ups and freelancers – the demand is increasingly cross sector. 

“As such, more and more companies are prioritising flexibility over cost, and with the rise in the gig economy and larger companies seeking flexible project space, flexible office solutions will become an integral part of the office mix of the future.”