Supply of UK flexible office space surged in Q1, with availability up 32% year on year, analysis by online marketplace Rubberdesk shows.

Over 8.6m sq ft of flex space across 7,510 offices is available, up 8.1% on Q4 2024.

The increase in supply led to a 1.2% fall in national desk rates from Q4, to around £500 per desk, but the rate is up 2.2% year on year.

Rubberdesk says a big rise in managed offices is leading the flex space boom, led by London, the UK’s most mature market. Supply of managed office space in the capital grew 111% year on year and 10.6% quarter on quarter, outpacing 6.1% serviced office space growth quarter on quarter.

“The surge in managed offices supply reflects a dual dynamic,” says Tom Petryshen, head of growth and analytics at Rubberdesk. “First, tenant demand for customised, private flexible solutions is strong, particularly from larger enterprises navigating economic uncertainty and hybrid work models; and second, landlords are actively contributing to this supply increase.

“Facing reduced demand for traditional five- to 10-year leases, owners are increasingly adopting managed solutions to meet evolving occupier needs and to maintain occupancy.”

The picture varies hugely across the UK. London still dominates the market with 75% of total UK flex space, while desk rates rose 1.1% quarter on quarter and 5.3% year on year. But availability surged 7.7% quarter on quarter and 39% year on year.

Birmingham had the strongest year-on-year desk rate growth at 23.3%, while availability was down 21.2% year on year. Flex space in Manchester had more modest 5.3% desk rate growth year on year, as availability rose 17.7%.

Petryshen points to “marked differences by area” in the capital, with “central London showing a 27.1% quarter-on-quarter space increase alongside a fall in desk rates, while south London showed rises in space and rates, and east and west London rates held steady despite an increase in space”. He adds that outside London, Cardiff had the sharpest quarter-on-quarter fall in desk rates, at 11%.