In the current 2019 coworking study by real estate consulting firm Cushman & Wakefield, Munich ranks sixth among European cities. According to the study, one reason for this strong performance is the high proportion of technology companies based in Munich.
There are over eleven million square meters of coworking space worldwide. Relative to the total global market, this represents only about one percent of the world's available office space. This is the conclusion reached by Cushman & Wakefield in a recent study. For its analysis, the real estate consulting firm examined the global market in this sector. The study authors also developed their own measurement method. This involves varying the weighting of the four categories examined: "market size," "business environment," "workforce potential," and "catalysts."
Munich's technology affinity as a match point
Munich ranks sixth in the study. According to the study, the Bavarian capital's ability to overtake Berlin (7th place) is primarily due to the high proportion of technology companies based there.
"International companies like Alibaba, Apple, and Google naturally influence the coworking-friendly workforce because they have precisely those employees. But Munich is also home to many smaller technology companies,"
thinks Yvo Postleb, Germany Head of Cushman & Wakefield. Furthermore, with almost 20.6 million square meters of office space, Munich has the largest office space inventory among Germany's top markets. By comparison, Berlin's available office space amounts to 18.7 million square meters.
Further growth of coworking spaces in Germany
As part of the analysis of European coworking hotspots, German cities were also examined for existing and planned coworking spaces. Berlin ranks first in the national top 5 ranking with almost 300,000 square meters (available: 200,100 square meters; planned: 99,700 square meters). Munich follows with 193,300 square meters (available: 132,100 square meters; planned: 61,200 square meters).
Frankfurt am Main ranks third (available: 89,600 square meters; planned: 49,700 square meters). Hamburg (available: 82,600 square meters; planned: 39,700 square meters) and Düsseldorf (available: 59,300 square meters; planned: 17,400 square meters) follow.
"We continue to expect an increase in coworking space in Germany. However, if the economy grows less strongly in the future and, as a result, one or two providers return space to the market in the short term, these will be quickly absorbed by the market,"
summarizes Postleb.
