The ongoing growth in the amount of co-working office space for lease in Auckland is set to continue for several more years to come, according to a new property research report.

The analysis by Bayleys Research concludes there is now more than 48,000 square metres of committed office space dedicated to co-working environments – equating to approximately two percent of Auckland’s office space.

Bayleys Auckland commercial and industrial director Lloyd said that while growth within the co-working office leasing sector in Auckland had been rapid, international trends were suggesting that further significant growth was likely in the city.

“In many established markets globally, co-worker organisations lease between five and 10 percent of the total office stock. At the lower end of this scale, Auckland’s CBD could accommodate at least 70,000-square metres of space,” Mr Budd said.

Mr Budd said that the arrival of global co-working giant WeWork in Auckland would add further impetus to the sector. In February this year, WeWork committed to an 8,500-square metre premises at 131 Queen Street.

“The Auckland WeWork property is part of a 224 percent increase on the 14,800sqm of co-working office space which was in the Auckland market in 2016,” he said.

“WeWork is not the only international heavyweights active in the Auckland market. Fellow co-working operator Spaces – part of the IWG group of co-working brands including Regis and Biz Dojo - has also committed to three floors within the Commercial Bay development in downtown Auckland addition to space it has at both 155 Fanshawe Street and 501 Karangahape Road.

“These commitments will allow Spaces to add approximately 1,200 desks to the city’s coworking inventory. In addition, the city’s largest co-working operator, Generator – owned by Precinct Properties - is to further expand its footprint by leasing additional space at 10 Madden Street in the Wynyard Quarter, which Precinct Properties is developing within its own portfolio.”

Mr Budd said that while co-working leases had traditionally been the real estate domain of technology-based sole-trader and small business operators on flexible short month-to-month leases, the practice had now evolved into the upper echelons of New Zealand’s corporate sector – with firms such as ANZ Bank, Amazon, Facebook embracing the floorspace-used model.