Co-workspace operators have raised their sights and begun to pursue bigger spaces, which could spell trouble for landlords, experts in Australia have warned. The Australian Federation of Small Business said the number of co-working spaces had increased by more than 50 per cent since 2012, with many now offering a range of services including office space, shared work areas, meeting Cook’s comments were echoed by others in the industry including Steve Urwin of Kernel Property who said weak leasing covenants signed with SPVs could leave landlords highly exposed. Urwin warned that the market in Sydney would face a big test in H2 2020 and Melbourne a little earlier and a lot harder due to the excess of available co-workspace sites.
Co-workspace operators have raised their sights and begun to pursue bigger spaces, which could spell trouble for landlords, experts in Australia have warned. The transition from soaking up small vacant locations to leasing large spaces and in some cases entire buildings creates a huge risk for landlords, according to Michael Cook, group executive for property at Investa. Cook’s comments were echoed by others in the industry including Steve Urwin of Kernel Property who said weak leasing covenants signed with SPVs could leave landlords highly exposed. Urwin warned that the market in Sydney would face a big test in H2 2020 and Melbourne a little earlier and a lot harder due to the excess of available co-workspace sites.