(Y)OUR SPACE

The Sentiment Index stands at 32.27, below its long-run average. The Growth Dynamic is above trend while Workplace is at a record low.

Organisations expect transformation and cost control within broadly flat real estate budgets. Each investment needs a clear business purpose, and each deferred decision carries implications for future choice.

AI tool deployment is advancing faster than the redesign of workflows and operating models.

70% of respondents sit at the neutral midpoint on floorspace impact. The report interprets this as a spatial consequence that is deferred, not absent, with recomposition in space requirements more likely than uniform contraction.

Different occupier postures, different priorities. Where does your organisation sit?

• Strategic Transformers: Strong business momentum and active physical change. Tie projects to transformation outcomes while retaining flexibility.
• Productivity Optimisers: Strong momentum and a restrained physical footprint. Demonstrate that the estate delivers more, and test where optimisation reaches its limits.
• Portfolio Recalibrators: Active estate change under more subdued business momentum. Turn savings into capability and protect the operational core.
• Defensive Consolidators: Caution across momentum and physical change. Quantify the deferral backlog and maintain the minimum action needed to preserve choice.

The framework provides a starting point for assessing whether the estate is moving with the business, standing still by design or accumulating decisions that become harder to resolve. Knight Frank Occupier Strategy & Solutions helps clients assess their position, identify portfolio and workplace exposures, and prioritise the decisions that matter most.