Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa July 2015 | страница 46

OFFICE

Shared Office Spaces
New office space trends
BY MEGAN DIENER

A

s employment and technological trends have
changed the world of work globally, so too has
the need for office space been changed.
“The global trend sees workplace sizes shrinking
as living spaces tend to shrink and the power of
corporations is rather rapidly shifting to the individual.
Everything is online and everyone can work from
anywhere. Shared desk spaces are sprouting up all over
the world,” says Greg Beadle, founder of The Bureax in
the Woodstock Exchange in Cape Town.
A diverse tenant mix of comparative industries
providing collaborative and mutually beneficial
business partnerships between tenants, is becoming
more important.
In recent years, a trend has emerged where tenants
are now sharing and renting not only office space but
also desk space. Hot desking, whereby tenants rent
desk space for specific time period, is increasing.
“Most South Africans still subconsciously feel more
comfortable with a more private work space than
working across a desk from a total stranger,” Beadle
says.
Start up businesses and globe-trotting entrepreneurs
are particularly keen on renting this form of flexible
space.
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JULY 2015 SA Real Estate Investor

Areas close to central business districts are in
high demand for shared office space owing to close
proximity to amenities.
In Johannesburg, Rosebank, Fourways, Bryanston,
Woodmead, Parktown and Midrand are popular
nodes for shared office space. Meanwhile, Umhlanga
in Durban has become a popular location, as well as
Woodstock, the V and A Waterfront, Green Point and
Sea Point in Cape Town.
A number of collaborative office spaces have opened
up in Cape Town, such as The Bureax at the Woodstock
Exchange.
“We have taken the traditional office lease concept
and relaxed the rules to make it more user friendly to
small businesses and start-ups, who do not want to
commit to long leases and a host of additional costs for
services,” Beadle says.
“The monthly rental amount includes use of shared
meeting rooms, connectivity to uncapped high speed
Internet and other resources. The concept is very
accessible to entrepreneurs who need to get out of their
homes and garages,” he adds.

RESOURCES
The Bureaux
www.reimag.co.za