Results at
a glance
The (Y)OUR SPACE survey, which includes the voices of 640 corporate real estate professionals globally, highlights the increasing complexity of the business environment and the critical role of real estate in shaping business strategies and supporting business transformation agendas over the next three years.
The following summary highlights the global trends we’re seeing in corporate real estate, focusing on 357 of the responses with a global or regional remit.
Our survey was unequivocal in the view that the operating environment for corporate real estate leaders is becoming ever more complex. If we look at the average score across the sample for each aspect of complexity we assessed in the (Y)OUR SPACE survey, we find that complexity is increasing across the board as represented by average scores of more than 3.
Over the next three years the complexity of...
Q
Which of the following do you expect to be part of your business strategy over the next 3 years?
86% of respondents identified at least one route to transformation over the next 3 years which will have real implications for real estate portfolios
Source: Knight Frank | Cresa 2023
Q
To what extent is real estate regarded as a strategic device within your business?
Source: Knight Frank | Cresa 2023
Q
Which aspects of your business strategy does real estate best support?
Source: Knight Frank | Cresa 2023
The projected amount of space held in occupied portfolios will be subject to change over the next three years but not necessarily purely in a downward direction. Expansion into new geographical markets and offensive transformation strategies will all contribute here. At the same time, a more settled picture around workstyles, the implications for the rate of office re-occupancy and the generosity of the space presented to those returning will determine how much space is ultimately required.
Q
How do you expect total floorspace across your portfolio to change over the next 3 years?
Source: Knight Frank | Cresa 2023
Q
How would you describe your organisation's workstyle 3 years from now?
Source: Knight Frank | Cresa 2023
Q
What services / amenities do you think your staff will demand from their workplace over the next 3 years?
Source: Knight Frank | Cresa 2023
In terms of top strategic initiatives that corporate real estate supports, ESG occupies rank position 6 and is called-out by 17% of all respondents. Encouragingly, this marks an improvement of 4 ranking places since the 2021 survey and suggests that the gap between corporate ambition and action on ESG is slowly closing.
The influence of ESG considerations is increasing too. Nearly three-quarters of respondents view ESG ambitions as having a moderate or significant effect on their real estate decisions over the next 3 years – compared to just over half of respondents in 2021. This is particularly true of the largest organisations responding to our survey.
Q
To what extent does your company's ESG strategy / commitments influence the real estate decisions you make over the next 3 years?
Source: Knight Frank | Cresa 2023