The serviced office market has been through a few difficult years since the Internet bubble burst in 2001, but it now looks to be back on track and it continues to innovate. The latest trend is the flexible managed office a hybrid between the serviced office and traditional way of providing office space through a long-term lease.
The flexible managed office is different in several ways from the serviced office pioneered by companies such as Regus, MLS and MWB. According to Martin Davis, a consultant with DTZ Research, the international property consultancy, 90% of operators in the serviced office sector provide small amounts of office space for periods of one or two months.
In the managed office sector, an intermediary service provider leases surplus office space from the freeholder and tenant then fits out the office space and provide managed office services to and agreed standard. And it offers these managed office services on a flexible short-term lease instead of a more conventional 10-year lease.
The flexible managed office provides a benefit to both landlords and tenants. Flexible managed offices can be used to accommodate project teams at short notice or to facilitate the refurbishment of their core premises. And landlords can gain additional income by filling office space that would otherwise remain empty.

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