text: UK standards suggest an average of 11 cubic metres, or 5 square metres, as the minimum space required per person in an office, but this is just a guide1.
  The cost per metre when multiplied by the minimum space requirement of 5 square metres provides the total property cost per employee per month.
  The average UK commercial property cost by City provides a range of £1,475.25 to £5,621.29 per month.
  This is an excellent baseline to begin to start developing a business case to identify the cost savings associated with moving to a remote working structure.
  Adhering to the minimum space requirements stated above, annual costs would range from £17,702 to £67,455.45 per employee per annum.
  Commercial property rental trends were analysed to identify any significant changes to the trends and to understand more about what the trends tell us.
  BNP Paribas data2 shows the number of short-term leases (from 1-4 years) has increased by 5% in the last year.
  This trend is true across all sectors. Retail, commercial and industrial leases decreased last year. We believe this trend will continue and if the COVID-19 outbreak causes further ambiguity then this trend may increase.
  Vacancy rates after lease expiration is also increasing. This data up to 2018 indicates a trend for higher vacancy rates and it will be interesting to see this chart updated for 2019/2020.