The business centre market - France

1.2 The French market for corporate domiciliation

For INSEE, business centres and other domiciliary companies fall under NAF code **.**Z: "This subclass includes the provision of a combination of day-to-day office administrative services, such as reception, financial planning, invoicing, file management and archiving, personnel activities, organisation of premises, mail services, etc., on behalf of third parties" [***].

Solid growth in this sector has thus been recorded over the last few years. Nevertheless, a slowdown can be expected in **** due to the Covid-** crisis.

Change in revenues excluding VAT from combined office administrative services France, ****-****, billion euros Source: ****

According to a Neo-Nomade study carried out from **** to ****, in * years there were about ** new business centres. From *** centres in ****, there were almost *** in ****

Change in the number of business centres France, ****-**** Source: ****

This market is not recent, business and residential centres have been around for many years: a **** study by Colliers International reveals that **% of the business centres were created before **** The s yndicat national des professionnels de l'hébergement d'entreprises, la Synaph The report, which was published in early ****, states that the growth rate is, for the last ** years, between *% and *%. The market is therefore showing great resilience. Indeed, this market has evolved a lot, particularly in its ...

1.3 Coworking competition a challenge for the sector

Coworking has indeed become very popular in the last * years, and, as shown in the graph below, the number of coworking spaces has even surpassed that of business centres to reach *,*** in **** in the words of bureauàpartager . It should be noted in the index that */* of the spaces are less than * years old which shows that coworking is a recent trend.

Change in the number of coworking spaces and business centres France, ****-**** Source: ****

But the business centres are still far from disappearing. While the boom in coworking has had a real impact on market growth, particularly from **** to ****, the market has been able to adapt by betting on its stability image in the face of a coworking "revolution" that's since run out of steam. Wework's setbacks have notably cooled investors and owners of tertiary assets regarding the solidity of the coworking market

Moreover, the boundary between the two terms is more than blurred. Many business centres have reacted vigorously by implementing more flexible shared spaces on their premises

Source: ****

Furthermore, according to a study conducted by JLL Paris Coworking space is not the cheapest solution; the average cost per m * in a coworking space is **** € while it is *** € for ...

1.4 L'impact de la crise sanitaire

La crise sanitaire a provoqué plusieurs changements sur le marché de l'immobilier de bureau. Premièrement, les acteurs du marché ont dû se confronté à une paralysie du marché en ****. Les périodes de confinement et le recours au télétravail ont mis une halte à de très nombreux projets locatifs. Ceci est particulièrement visible lorsqu'on s'intéresse à la demande placée de bureaux. La demande placée des bureaux correspond à l'ensemble des locations ou ventes à l'occupant (***) portant sur des locaux à usage de bureaux et elle est exprimée en mètres carrés de surface utile. 

Evolution de la demande placée de bureaux en Ile-de-France Ile-de-France, ****-****, en millions de m* Source: ****

On note une chute drastique de la demande placée en ****. L'année **** a été bien meilleure, mais le niveau de demande n'est toujours pas revenu à la normale. Par ailleurs, ce n'est pas simplement le volume de la demande qui a connu un changement. De fait, une des conséquences principales de la crise sanitaire a été le recours de plus en plus démocratisé au télétravail. Un nombre croissant d'entreprises ne se voit plus s'engager sur des baux longs et préfèrent ...

2.1 Wide demand from a variety of customers

According to Echoes The interest in the demand for business centres arose mainly from the difficulty of certain players (***) in managing and anticipating the evolution of company offices and the costs related to this evolution. Over time, business centres have proven to be excellent at meeting a very broad demand that brings together many different players

Distribution of business centre clients Île de France, ****, by type Source: ****

Business centres offer the advantage of offering formulas where everything is included in the daily maintenance of the office. This solution is less rigid and less expensive than a conventional office rental. In addition, it offers a multitude of options that bring together a wide range of clients. Thus, large groups, VSE/SMEs, or entrepreneurs, find their account there.

For example, business centres are ideal when it comes to seconding a nomadic team to a particular project for a specific period of time. VSEs and entrepreneurs can reserve rooms there for the day, to meet clients in a suitable setting, or even take up residence there to benefit from the prestige provided by the address of a large city. As for the large groups, they find the perfect solution to send an scouting" team ...

2.2 Flexibility and accessibility: major arguments for business centres

The strategy of the business centres can be summed up as a constant adaptation to the market and its changing demand.

The appearance of co-working spaces or meeting rooms offered by hotels have firstly constituted threats to the sector, but, he was able to draw on what was on demand in these solutions. For example, several business centres have begun offering shared spaces in recent years. This flexibility and adaptability is the strength of business centres

Flexibility when signing the lease

Any company setting up in business initially seeks to acquire either commercial premises or space in a business centre Business centres offer startup packages " turnkey "for their customers with ever more adapted services. In this respect, the e modifiable lease is an argument and an issue for business centres. It is counted in months, not years, and can be modified according to the needs of the company. The average lease in a business centre thus requires one to three months' notice. [***]

New types of settlement in transit zones

Traditionally, business centers have expanded in business districts: La Défense in Paris, La Part-Dieu in Lyon, Eura-Lille and the Euro-Mediterranean in Marseille. But demand is driving new location strategies The group ...

2.3 A qualitative solution, yet not very democratic in a mature market

A working atmosphere in a quality setting

At a time when everyone has an internet connection at home or on their smartphone, business centers offering shared spaces or a "turnkey" office for a few hours, know how to offer their professionals a place dedicated to work in a serious atmosphere. Some large business centers are therefore multiplying the number of locations in beautiful buildings, in a luxurious and attractive environment. Like the Australian group Svercop which systematically renovates its establishments as soon as it is acquired. [***]

The Synaph also offers the business centres of benefit from their label as a guarantee of quality to their customers . Nevertheless, to obtain this label, the centre must contain

a self-service photocopier; a fax machine; iT tools for the secretariat, which provides a hotline and welcomes visitors a telephone installation with a minimum of * access lines ; a working meeting room

A lack of awareness due to a lack of networking

The constant evolution of business centers, and the poor readability of the offer makes companies unaware of these solutions. According to a survey by CCI Paris Ile-de-France/Mediamétrie** carried out in September ****, **% of Ile-de-France business leaders had set up actions to help their employees ...

2.4 Does teleworking make room for flexible offices?

The covid-** crisis saw an explosion in the number of homeworkers. Teleworking has attracted a large number of companies during this period and many are those who say they want to continue to implement these practices in the future

The Néo Nomade site, carries out a prospective study of the impact that this trend could have in the world of flexible offices. It thus draws up * theories on the future and evaluates them in a table according to the risk-perspective relationships. It is logical to think that telework can threaten business centres in that it leads to a decrease in the number of occupied offices. For example, some scenarios leave little room for flexible offices, which are expense items that can easily be eliminated due to the absence of a long-term lease.

But some of the scenarios nevertheless promise a place for business centres. Indeed, in the aftermath of the crisis, they could become a matter of course, as an alternative to a ***% return to overly centralised company headquarters, and in the desire to avoid a ***% teleworking that no longer allows for the creation of links

Source: ****

2.5

3.1 A segmentation that is becoming denser with the emergence of new players

Two types of business centres characterize the market: on the one hand, the major national and international groups (***), and on the other, a majority number of small independent business centres Most of them have been active since the ****s and ****s. [***]

The business centre market has been segmented in the same way for many years. However, a number of players have re-interested themselves in this market since the boom in coworking spaces, and there has been an influx of new entrants to the flexible office market:

Real estate players: real estate companies and investors, developers (***); Hotel groups (***); Generalist investors (***).

Alongside these operators there are independent companies, but also incubators that are redeploying towards office rentals. In short, the competitive landscape has become more intense in recent years. And it will continue to evolve despite the scarcity of available space.

1.1 Definition and scope of study

According to the **** study conducted by Colliers International France a commercial real estate consulting firm; the business centres are always located as close as possible to their clients according to their type. This reality is most of the time reflected in the business districts of large metropolises. Thus, while some people opt for the luxury of a prestigious city centre, most prefer the business districts on the outskirts where their clients are located. In the Paris basin, for example, the business centres remain in "traditional" tertiary zones » where their offer can appeal to a large network of assets and companies. They can also be found along the main transit routes. [***]

In France, the Ile-de-France region has the most business centres with ***, followed by the Auvergne Rhône Alpe region with *** and the PACA region with ***

Source: ****

There are therefore many regions where the supply of business centres is still low, but no region is without them.

Finally, many local authorities have perceived the interest of developing third places on their territory; the third place can first of all play a positive role in the attractiveness of the territories. They can reduce their dependency on urban centres, attract new players to the ...

3.3 A redefinition forced by profitability and competition

Third-party locations are facing the challenges of profitability. Business centre revenues are derived primarily from workstation rentals. These are twofold:

Resident workers' area: monthly rental Nomadic space: rental by the hour

According to CCI Paris a space is profitable if the occupation rate of the nomadic space is permanently close to *** %. Thus the third places are victims of their strong point: their flexibility. In this quest for profitability, and facing an exacerbated competition, business centers must stand out.

Differentiation is therefore the key to winning over and retaining target customers. Coworking and business centres are becoming increasingly similar. In order to stand out, the centres rely on a new definition

The spatial location for example, is a way to show your difference:

Whether through the quality of the locations (***), or through territorial coverage. In this segment, we find players such as Wojo, Spaces, or Wéréso for whom the location in several cities proves to be an asset. In this respect, cities with little investment, such as Nantes, Toulouse, Montpellier, Strasbourg or Nice, are presenting themselves as breeding grounds for potential in the coming years.

The infrastructure quality and design:

It is a significant element that also constitutes a means ...

3.4 Peripheral market players

Actors who intervene in work spaces

There are a number of related players positioned on the market for the animation and design of flexible workspaces in companies. They are positioned on the market from the design of the space to its animation

Referencing platforms

Finally, there are now a number of flexible space referencing platforms. This is a relatively saturated segment because traditional real estate leasing platforms have gradually integrated business centres into their sites.

However, the two oldest are Office to Share and NeoNomad They were joined by news such as Beewake, Hub-Grade or Choose and Work . All of them offer office rentals as well as space to share. They serve as intermediaries for centres that are not part of a large group as well as for giants such as Regus. [***]

These platforms are very successful because they offer comparative and targeted searches based on a wide range of criteria. They target companies and are responsible for making reservations with business centres

4.1 An ever-increasing number of services on offer

Lightening of leases, gain of freedom of action for companies, enlargement and modulation of the premises according to the activity, organization of events, but also spaces focused on meeting with other entrepreneurs... The giants of the sector, specialized in renting work spaces to professionals, are constantly building and innovating for their clients.

As an example, we can mention the characteristics of two spaces inaugurated in **** Garosud Enterprise Space in Montpellier and Workstation at the DOD. These giant spaces offer even more services in terms of well-being to their future users

****m * garden in the heart of Paris and overlooking the banks of the Seine; several hundred parking spaces; ****m * of workspace for the centre of Montpellier ; internet access; of cleaning; food service areas ; co-working spaces; offices of various sizes; a gym; a nursery school; a pallet storage space for craftsmen.

All these advantages "contribute to the meeting of men" as underlined by Chantal Marion Vice-President of Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole, in charge of economic development for the Tribune. And it is indeed this need for networking that is the key to the success of a third location. This parameter must be taken into account by the offer if ...

4.2 Prices that vary according to the offer and the service offered

Among the offers of business centers are

Renting equipped offices

Les Echos report that in ****, for an average of €*** in the Paris region, and with a flexible notice period of * to * months, companies can use a business centre and have a closed and equipped office in a place providing service and administrative logistics. In contrast, a traditional office of around ** m² with a lease of *, * or * years costs an average of €*** per month.

Rental of meeting rooms

Modular The meeting rooms are equipped to receive * to ** people as is the case for the Lyon business centre Espace G*C (***). [***]

Permanence and telephone reception

The business centres provide a reception agent to receive mail and take calls for the customer The business center can also create a personal number and redirect calls At Alac Etoile in Paris the monthly subscription is **€ HT with decreasing rates according to the number of calls [***]

The domiciliation of commercial and postal companies

Interesting for any new company setting up; this option allows the establishment of the business address but also the reception of the mail followed by a warning by email or a call according to the contract.

Co-working and shared office space  

To work one ...

5. Regulation

A domiciliation, is a commercial address, but also an administrative and fiscal address. These last two notions are introduced in the official texts by the order n°**-**** of **/**/** modified by the law n°**-**** of **/**/** relating to the domiciliation of companies and by the decree n°**-**** of **/**/**.

The activity of domiciliation is also recognized and taken into account by various tax laws, including Instruction n°*-Q-I-** of **/**/**.

The sYNAPHE label constitutes the certificate of conformity of the business centre or domiciliation company to the quality criteria defined by the SYNAPHE. This conformity is verified by an audit carried out by a neutral external company The label is issued for * years and compliance is checked unexpectedly every year.

*  The label must offer a sufficient surface area:

Minimum ** m * for domiciliation companies; A minimum of * offices to be rented for business centre companies;

* The label includes a visitor reception service, a telephone hotline and the presence of at least one person at the secretariat, * hours a day, * days a week and every working day.

* The activity of business centre or domiciliation company must be the main activity of the labelled company.

* The office is equipped with at ...

6. Segmentation

• ABCLIV
• Sofradom
• Alac Etoile
• Servcorp
• Ateac
• NCI Groupe
• Sofrapart
• Centre d’affaires des Monts d’or 1
• Baya Axess
• Bureaux à partager
• Le Bloc (Eyrolles Groupe)
• IWG Regus (International Workspace group)
• Buro club
• Multibureau