Consultancy Spaces to Places has unveiled the top 25 operators in the UK's flexible office market, which it claims is undergoing a "fundamental transition" and maturity, Property Week can reveal.

Zoe Ellis-Moore, CEO and founder of Spaces to Places

The consultancy said the sector was seeing a “long overdue reality check” and that consolidation would be essential for the market as it matures. Its research said the sector was undergoing “a fundamental transformation from growth-stage experimentation to institutional-grade operational real estate”.

Its research showed there were more than 228 providers with four or more locations. It claimed this would likely reduce “to around 10-15 providers with proven workspace models” over time.

The research showed that Regus has the most locations in the UK, with 228 locations. Next on the list was Spaces (71), Fora (70), Workspace Group (66) and BizSpace (63).

WeWork, once London’s largest privater occupier, currently sits at 9th on the list after reducing its number of UK sites to 34 following recent financial struggles.

“After years of inflated promises and tech unicorn comparisons, the flexible office sector is undergoing a long overdue reality check,” said Zoe Ellis-Moore, CEO and founder of Spaces to Places. “Flex is not a tech play. It is a mature cash flow business rooted in recurring revenues, operational delivery, and customer service.”

“The next wave of success in this sector will not come from those who scale but from those who operate smartest,” Ellis-Moore added.

The report said, to succeed in this new phase, landlords and providers would need to embrace branded, scalable, and data-driven service delivery.

It also highlighted that the adoption of standardised operating metrics, such as the sector-wide adoption of KPIs such as cost-per-desk and revenue per available unit, were among signs of the sector’s growing maturity.

“Traditional property management is under pressure,” Ellis-Moore added that traditional property management practices were “under pressure”.

“Landlords are rethinking how buildings are run as flex providers increasingly manage not only flex space but entire buildings.”