The UK has retained its position as EMEA’s most mature flexible office market for a second consecutive year, achieving a flexible office maturity score of 94%, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s Global Trends in Flexible Office 2026 report.
France ranked second at 92%, while the Netherlands and UAE recorded the region’s strongest year-on-year improvements, increasing to 82% and 77% respectively, with both markets buoyed by the strong relationship between flexible offices and artificial intelligence (AI).
The global report covers 16 EMEA markets and evaluates factors including flexible workspace as a share of total office stock, operator numbers, leasing volumes, landlord participation and management agreement adoption, alongside two new AI-focused indicators introduced this year.
The research highlights increasing consolidation across the sector. The share of markets where the three largest operators account for a meaningful share of activity (medium or high concentration) increased from 70% to 93% over the past year. Demonstrating the increasing willingness of landlords to participate directly in the delivery of flexible space, two-thirds of EMEA markets now report meaningful levels of management agreement activity, compared with just over one-third a year ago, while 71% report high levels of landlord-operated flexible workspace offerings, up from 53% in 2025.
Kiran Patel, Head of Office Sector Research BDS, EMEA at Cushman & Wakefield, said: “The flexible office market across EMEA continues to mature and evolve. High-quality offerings, novel operating models and a structural supply shortage of traditional office space are all contributing to robust demand for flexible offices. But it’s the relationship between flex and AI that’s the most exciting part of the market, with the sector playing a critical role in supporting the scaling-up of AI firms as well as helping other businesses navigate through uncertainty during the adoption process.”
Market Concentration Signals a New Phase of Maturity
The report points to an increasingly concentrated market landscape as occupiers and investors focus activity on a smaller number of established locations. Larger operators are often best positioned to secure highly connected, amenity-rich locations and absorb rising fit-out and operating costs, helping explain why markets reporting high levels of concentration among their three largest operators increased to 93%, up from 70% a year earlier.
The proportion of EMEA markets reporting high levels of flexible office take-up increased from 23% to 36% over the past year, while the proportion reporting low levels of activity also rose from 38% to 43%, highlighting growing polarisation between the region’s strongest and weakest markets.
Supply Constraints Continue to Support Growth
Broader office market conditions support demand for flexible workspace. As of Q2 2026, Europe’s office development pipeline had fallen 49% from its 2020 peak to 10.3 million sq m, the lowest level since 2011. With occupiers facing increasing challenges securing high-quality space in key markets, flexible workspace is increasingly being used to support growth, bridge lease events and provide immediate access to workplace solutions without the time and capital commitment associated with traditional fit-outs.
AI Emerges as a Driver of Flexible Office Demand
The report identifies AI as an emerging source of demand across leading flexible office markets. The UK, France and UAE are examples of markets where strong technology ecosystems, concentrations of AI firms and mature flexible workspace sectors are increasingly supporting one another.
Flexible workspace is playing an important role in helping AI companies expand rapidly, providing turnkey environments that allow businesses to scale headcount quickly while maintaining access to established innovation clusters. Around a fifth of EMEA markets studied reported having over 50 AI firms based within flexible workspaces – a number that grows by the week.
In the UK, London’s Knowledge Quarter is a standout example of this trend, with flexible workspace helping emerging AI businesses establish themselves alongside leading technology, research and innovation organisations.
Arron Browne, Head of Flexible Offices London at Cushman & Wakefield, said: “AI businesses often need to grow quickly and establish themselves close to talent, innovation and investment. Flexible workspace is uniquely positioned to support that growth by providing immediate access to high-quality space in the heart of key tech clusters with the ability to jump from five desks to fifty overnight. Propagating these smaller businesses also helps to feed the pipeline for traditional office leasing down the line – a win for the whole market.”