A typical services company occupying offices in the 10 major European capitals for 1,000 employees can save up to EUR1.5 million a year, which, given cost-to-revenue ratio, equates to an EBITDA increase of around 3%, according to a study by the property service consultant.
According to DTZ, the growth of technology and collaborative working has been a powerful driver of change to the way in which office space is used across Europe, even in countries that have been slow to change historically. The result is that multinational occupiers may find themselves out of sync with local market best practice.
“European workplace practices have evolved rapidly in recent times with companies needing fewer employees present in the office at all times. This has a knock-on effect on workplace density and occupiers often retain more space than they actually need,” said James Maddock, head of global support services at DTZ.
Taking time to re-examine the amount of space allocated to each employee can therefore prove a worthwhile exercise for occupiers.
“Companies looking to make savings from their estate portfolio usually target rents and can therefore end up moving to less desirable areas. However, the biggest cost savings are not necessarily through changing location – in fact, quite the contrary. Focusing instead on workplace density allows estate managers to find the right solution to the traditional headache of ‘Cost’ or ‘Talent’. It means they can save money, while staying in or moving to a prime location to retain and attract talent,” said Madalina Cojocaru, head of office department at DTZ Echinox.
The figures come as DTZ launches its Global Occupier Metrics Tool which it has developed to allow occupiers to calculate total occupancy costs in more than 130 global office and logistics markets. DTZ’s web-based tool provides occupancy cost simulations and more than 100 key performance indicators and benchmarks.