High-growth firms move quickly, which means their real estate has to keep up. Enterprise office space is not about a big floorplate and a long lease, it is a way to give 50 to 500+ people the right mix of location, flexibility and performance so the business can grow with fewer roadblocks. If you are adding teams, entering new markets or consolidating after an acquisition, the right workspace becomes a growth tool, not a cost anchor.
At Flexioffices, we match you with options across the market, from premium serviced floors to custom managed spaces and conventional leases, then negotiate terms that support your plan rather than constrain it. You can see how choice translates into leverage by browsing our London office space early in your search.
Key takeaways
- Enterprise office space should scale as your headcount and markets change
- Managed solutions balance control, speed and cost for enterprise teams
- Hybrid work patterns shape location, size and amenity choices
- Strong IT, security and compliance are essential in an enterprise office space
- Use a 90-day plan to move from brief to signed heads of terms
- Flexioffices brokers the whole market to find enterprise office space fast
What enterprise office space really means for high-growth firms
Enterprise office space is a category defined by complexity. Multiple departments, sensitive data, exec expectations and brand experience must coexist. The space has to host clients, protect IP, support hybrid rituals and give leaders confidence that growth can continue without constant moves. Above all, it must be easy to expand, reduce or reconfigure without friction.
The market is moving your way. Corporate occupiers are a growing share of flex take-up, and managed solutions have accelerated in London, giving larger firms real choice beyond a traditional lease. As shown in JLL’s analysis of managed solutions, managed deals accounted for the majority of its London flex transactions through 2023 and H1 2024, signalling maturing enterprise demand.
The scale and speed problem
Hypergrowth turns nine-month fit-outs into blockers. Enterprise-grade flex can compress timelines because the base build, power and connectivity already exist. With the right partner, you can shape branding, meeting layouts and security without building from scratch. For an overview of customisation and all-inclusive pricing at 100-plus person scale, our managed office space guide explains how the model works.
Hybrid has changed the brief too. ONS data confirms hybrid working is now embedded for many UK workers, which impacts required desk ratios, collaboration space and hub locations. Use the hybrid worker characteristics dataset to understand how patterns vary by role and age when sizing floors.
Headcount, hubs and horizons: building a scale plan
Start with a rolling 12- to 24-month forecast by function. Map hiring waves, attrition and potential M&A to the rooms you actually need: desks, collaboration zones, quiet focus areas and client-facing suites. Build two versions, a base plan and a stretch case, then ensure your terms allow swing space to absorb surges.
Translate that model into a footprint strategy. For example, keep your client-facing leadership hub central, then add satellite project rooms in talent hotspots. A flex-plus core strategy gives you operational certainty, then optionality via additional managed floors. Directionally, corporate occupiers expect to increase flex usage over the next three years, a trend captured in JLL’s Future of Work 2024 research.
Forecasts that actually help real estate decisions
Do not forecast only by desks. Forecast by team rituals, such as quarterly planning, client pitches and product showcases. These moments define peak occupancy. Use simple triggers that move you to a bigger floor or an extra suite. To convert those triggers into real decisions, our guide to office models clarifies the differences between leased, serviced and managed.
Location strategy for talent, clients and cost
Location choices should mirror your hiring plan and your customer map. If your sales and partnerships team hosts clients daily, central submarkets near key transport are worth the premium. Engineering hubs can sit where talent lives and commutes easily. Because hybrid patterns vary widely by occupation and age, a point made in the ONS breakdown of hybrid workers, a multi-hub plan can reduce travel friction for core roles.
Lease models that keep you agile: serviced, managed and leased
Think in three buckets. Serviced space is plug-and-play, perfect for project teams and temporary overflow. Managed space is a flexible lease with a custom fit and a single monthly fee, ideal for 70 to 300 people who need control without capex. Conventional leases suit long-term anchor teams with stable headcount and specific technical needs. The case for a competitive search and strong negotiations is reinforced by CBRE’s view of corporate demand in London’s flex market, which highlights growing corporate use of flex and a flight to quality.
Managed has become the enterprise sweet spot because it balances speed, brand control and predictable opex. You can influence layout, collaboration zones and access control, and still move in quickly. The structural shift toward managed deals in London’s flex market, described in JLL’s piece on the rise of managed solutions, reflects this enterprise preference.
Our team will map all three models and present a side-by-side comparison that compares cost, speed and flexibility. If you want a running start, examples across submarkets are visible in our London inventory, which is helpful when scoping a hub-and-spoke plan.
Which model suits 50, 150 or 500 people?
For 50 to 120 people, a serviced floor or two gives certainty and short term. For 120 to 300 people, managed wins on control and brand without capex. Beyond 300, many enterprises blend a managed anchor with overflow serviced suites, then evaluate a lease when growth stabilises. The enterprise playbook, including MSAs that compress move-in timelines, is unpacked in our article on why enterprises are pivoting to flex.
Design is not décor, it is workflow. Prioritise clear wayfinding, video-first meeting rooms and a mix of quiet focus areas with lively collaboration zones. Employees consistently value daylight and wellness features. Research summarised in Harvard Business Review’s piece on natural light links daylight to reduced eyestrain and fatigue, which is why light, air quality and acoustics are now table stakes for enterprise office space.
If you are consolidating multiple sites, create a shared amenity spine that builds culture on in-office days. The case for amenity and ergonomics in board packs is supported by British Council for Offices research on productivity, which ties design decisions to measurable outcomes.
Security, IT and compliance without the headaches
Enterprise-ready flex offers private VLANs, device segmentation and visitor management that meet your policy. Managed options let you specify secure rooms for client data or production builds, with access control that aligns to HR joiners, movers and leavers. When you brief IT and Security, focus on robust access and network security first, then plan bandwidth and resilience that scale with your headcount.
Budget, ROI and board reporting
Boards want predictability and a clear value story. Managed solutions can shift spend from capex to opex while locking core costs for the term. Combine ticket prices with the avoided costs of long fit-outs, churn and empty space. The pricing dynamics behind flight to quality and corporate demand for flex, outlined in CBRE’s European occupier sentiment and Savills’ UK flexible office analysis, underline the value of a market-wide search.
A practical 90-day roadmap to your next enterprise office
Start with a sharp, three-page brief that defines people, process and risk. Then run a market sweep that tests serviced, managed and leased options in the same submarkets. Shortlist three to five spaces and complete technical due diligence on IT, ESG, lifts, end-of-trip facilities and security. Close with heads of terms that include expansion rights, brand permissions and clear make-good obligations.
With Flexioffices, you can compress this into a focused sprint. We manage tours, comparisons and negotiations, and keep a backup option live so you always retain leverage. If you want a head start on possibilities, our homepage is the quickest route to sharing a brief and getting matched to options.
How Flexioffices supports high-growth enterprises
Enterprises choose us because we open the whole market, not just a shortlist of operators, then tailor the search to your decision makers in Finance, HR, IT and Operations. Benefits include access to 99% of workspace options, bespoke design support, scalability planning, round-the-clock help and proven cost savings through strong negotiations. That mix is designed for high-growth teams that need options now and clear paths to expand later.
Our marketing and client-service principles match enterprise needs too. We focus on social proof, measurable outcomes and a seamless experience, from virtual tours to a dedicated account manager. When the stakes are high, that combination is what gives sponsors confidence to proceed at pace.
Conclusion
Enterprise office space should remove friction, not add it. With the right model and partner, you can protect budgets, keep teams productive and give leaders the flexibility to scale. The combination of market breadth, fast timelines, and enterprise-grade IT and security is why more large firms are blending managed and serviced with their core lease. If you want a practical route to a high-performing home for your next phase, we are ready to help.
FAQs
What is the difference between serviced and managed space at enterprise scale?
Serviced is plug-and-play with fixed layouts and shared amenities, which suits project teams and overflow. Managed gives you a flexible lease, custom design, dedicated amenities and a single monthly fee, which suits 70 to 300 people. For deeper detail, our managed office overview sets out what you get.
How does hybrid work change the amount of space we need?
Hybrid changes peak days and space types, so plan by team rituals rather than just desks. Because patterns vary by occupation and age, as shown in the ONS hybrid worker dataset, larger firms often adopt multi-hub footprints.
Can we still control security and compliance in flex space?
Yes. Enterprise-grade managed space supports private networks, access control and secure rooms that align to your standards. When you need to evidence controls, include network architecture, visitor logs and joiner-mover-leaver processes in your brief.
How quickly can we move 200 people?
With pre-fitted space and a clear brief, enterprises can compress timelines significantly compared with a full fit-out. Many clients use managed as a fast anchor, then layer serviced suites to handle peaks. The approach we outline in our flex pivot article shows how to keep options open.
Why use Flexioffices for an enterprise move?
You get market coverage, expert negotiation and a process tuned to C-suite needs. We offer free consultancy, streamlined search and relocation workflows, plus a track record of delivering savings. Those are the reasons high-growth firms rely on us when the stakes rise.
