Total flexible (flex) space leased by flex operators in the 18-month period from January2021to June 2022 stood at 8.8 million sq. ft, which is over 63% of the total space leased in the preceding two years i.e.,2019and 2020(14 million sq. ft). During the same period, the share of managed and hybrid operators in flex leasing also increased from 79% to 87% according to a JLL-CoWrks report titled ‘The age of flex: Creating future-ready workplaces.’

large operators with 5,000+ seats under management,and big operators with 3,000 to 5,000 seats under managementtoday, have exhibited an11X growth from 2016 till H1 2022 in terms of their portfolio size and hold a cumulative 81% share of the operational seats.A change in workplace strategies especially during the COVID period has seen large enterprises consider workplaces as a key tool to drive business and empower their employees. This is clearly seen in the numbers: 65,171 seats were leased by enterprises in the first half of 2022, which is already 54%of the total seats leased (121,000) during 2020 and 2021. In fact,in the last 18 months,more than half of the enterprise leases are of a large size comprising over1,000 seats per deal.

“Domestic firms have seen a faster adoption of flex space with their share rising from 35% in 2019 to 46% during the first half of 2022.Sincework from home is being gradually moderated, many employees may still prefer working closer to home, or staying back in their hometowns to continue working there, and thus flex spaces become the best solution.Among domestic firms, startups accounted for 37% share of seats leased in 2021 with Bengaluru seeing the maximum traction, followed by Delhi NCR and Mumbai. In H1 2022, start-ups were even more active with a 42.4% share of seats leased among domestic firms. Bengaluru was again the leader followed by Delhi NCR and Hyderabad in startup activity in flex spaces.There is a clear shift in occupier preferences, with the share of non-tech firms rising significantly in the flex ecosystem from 33% in 2019 to 43% in 2021. It stands at 40% in H1 2022,” said Dr. Samantak Das, Head of Research and REIS, India, JLL.