ASX-listed property giant Dexus has joined Perth’s flexible office phenomenon, launching a new facility at 240 St Georges Terrace to cater for the changing needs of its tenants.
ASX-listed property giant Dexus has joined Perth’s flexible office phenomenon, launching a new facility at 240 St Georges Terrace to cater for the changing needs of its tenants.
Dexus unveiled the new purpose-built centre last night, with Dexus Place Perth including training and conference facilities, meeting rooms, event and networking spaces and access to flexible desks.
Dexus Place Perth, the fifth facility of its kind in Australia, will be accessible by existing Dexus tenants, whether they be located at 240 St Georges Terrace, or any other building across its $31.8 billion national portfolio.
The facility has been designed for firms that may temporarily need extra space to cater for project teams, or for travelling executives that may not be catered for by a national firm’s existing footprint at 240.
“We are seeing that our customers’ number one priority is flexibility and we can now offer our Perth based and visiting customers the benefits of a state-of-the-art workspace with the flexibility of access from one hour to one month,” Dexus head of office leasing Chris Hynes said.
“There is an increasing trend towards integrated workspaces that provide flexibility and high amenity as businesses recognise the benefits that flexible environments can have on workplace culture and efficiency.”
The opening of Dexus Place Perth follows the 2019 arrivals in Perth of international flexible office giants WeWork and Spaces, while locals such as Spacecubed and Liberty Flexible Offices have been sharpening and expanding their offerings.
A recent report on Australian co-working by flexible office marketplace Office Hub indicated the practice of office building owners setting aside part of their building for a flexible office operator was gaining significant momentum across Australia.
“Driven by a culture shift within the new generation workforce, coworking has become the new normal,” Office Hub chief executive Grant Phillip said.
“Now a vital part of commercial real estate strategy for everyone from startups to corporates, it’s triggered intriguing change in the coworking landscape.”
Office Hub’s report showed professional services firms were most likely to take up space in a flexible office, with 22.6 per cent of market demand coming from that sector.
IT, computing and software firms made up 15.8 per cent of market demand, the report said, with property, real estate and construction driving 11.2 per cent of demand.
On the operator side of the market, Office Hub said providers were differentiating their offerings through architectural design and additional services.
Global operators such as Spaces and WeWork had designed their offerings with corporate enterprises in mind, while boutique providers such as Spacecubed have found a niche with industry-specific offerings, Mr Phillip said.
“The quality of the employee experience is the key consideration across the board as leaders refocus on their people, and as such, operators must be willing to adapt and reinvest to remain competitive,” he said.
