Jon Seal from technologywithin summarized Green Street’s (infuriatingly email-gated) report that UK-based flex workspace brokerage Officio has engaged consultancy firm Deloitte to float a potential sale for the firm.

The news has not been confirmed by either parties, and we dislike sharing any form of gated content, but it does point to consolidation trends in the industry as it matures. Also makes us wonder what ripples this will cause across Rubberdesk, Instant/Worka, Office Freedom, Hubble/Yardi and the likes of C&W, CBRE, JLL who are all diving deep into flex.

Richard Smith, founder and CEO of Office Freedom, has strongly criticized a recent conference talking point for office providers to "disintermediate" flex agents to improve efficiency and cut costs, describing it as a betrayal after 32 years of industry advocacy and revenue generation.

In particular, he highlighted the contradiction in the company’s (Yardi) position, noting that they recently acquired flex broker Hubble while simultaneously calling for the elimination of brokers, and argued that most flex providers aren’t recognized brand names that rely on broker partnerships for visibility and client acquisition. Its being argued that abandoning the broker model could lead to increased voids, reduced revenue, and transform the industry into a "glorified oligopoly," while emphasizing that flex deals are growing larger and becoming viable lease alternatives rather than just stepping stones.

As long as clients value centralized market comparison and expert advice, we believe that it will be tech-enabled brokers that remain an essential support system, rather than unnecessary intermediaries in an increasingly interconnected global marketplace.

Syncaroo shared that their Assistant browser extension now includes on-screen "helpers" for LiquidSpace, Hubble, Deskpass, Tally Workspace and Instant Offices with development and testing already underway, and alongside multi-location space teams, for OfficeHub, Office Freedom, Workthere, NearU and Rubberdesk (UK).

These "helpers" browser extension (for Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge) expands their live-date sidebar functionality with on-page overlays that make checking and updating important information like prices, descriptions and opening hours faster, without needing to check any other tabs, sheets or dashboards.

In Office Freedom’s recent UK Flex Office Market report, they share that Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Glasgow and Edinburgh accounted for 58% of the total new flexible centres outside of London since 2021. They also share that Nottingham and Reading are seeing a spike in desks per deal in 2023 vs 2020, highlighting their emergence as flex hotspots. What about London? 586 new flex centres opened in Central London over the same period.

Interestingly they also note that the time from lead to move-in outside the capital decreased from 64 days in 2021 to 55 days in 2023. In London, that decreased from 100 days in 2020 to 61 days in 2023.

Richard Smith chats with Suzan Dixon about Standard Chartered Bank about their approach to flex and working with brokers on The Office Freedom Podcast.