Pure-play managed space providers have been the drivers of the flex resurgence post-COVID, growing the fastest compared to the other players who offer either pure coworking spaces or hybrid spaces.​

Managed space operators have seen their operational footprint grow by 10 times to ~15 mn sq ft till March 2023 compared to the 2018 numbers. Both coworking and hybrid players have seen a decline in their respective shares of operational flex stock over the past two years.​

At a city level, Bengaluru is the overall leader in terms of operational flex stock, accounting for a ~39% share on average since 2018, followed by Delhi NCR with an average share of ~17%. Over the same period, Hyderabad and Pune have displaced Mumbai in terms of the next highest flex stock across the top 7 cities.​

There has been a diversification of demand which is now of a very secular nature with all occupier categories, including manufacturing/industrial, BFSI, and Consulting adopting flexible office formats to a greater extent

Space taken up by enterprises (converted to per seat basis) in flex has risen by 3.2X in the period of FY21 to FY23, to a record-high number. It is interesting to note that the enterprise seat take-up recorded in FY23 is higher compared to the combined FY21 & FY22 numbers.​

The flex industry’s growth numbers also find concurrence in the occupier survey conducted as part of this report. A sizeable 63% of all our respondents want flex as an adjunct to their overall portfolio – keeping conventional spaces but adding more flexibility in their portfolio.​

The flex story in smaller cities is gaining definite momentum. A significant 26% of respondents with their current operations limited to tier 1 cities have also shown that they are willing to explore tier 2 cities for their medium to long-term expansion plans. The tier 2 story is an evolving one and one to watch out for.​