As secondary office stock continues to face high vacancy rates and falling rental values, revitalisation efforts must look beyond individual refurbishments. One strategy gaining traction is the creation of local office clusters – networks of refurbished buildings, well-connected by transport and enriched with shared amenities and institutional partnerships.
These clusters can do more than offer lettable space. By co-locating education, cultural and business initiatives as well as perhaps local government hubs, they can serve as community anchors, drawing in footfall, supporting hybrid work and providing flexible, affordable space for SMEs and scaling enterprises. This vision supports social inclusion and long-term economic viability.
As Mark Leeson, operations director at McBains – a leading property and construction consultancy – and a member of the British Council of Offices’ Technical Affairs Committee, observed:
“You’ve got to create that sense of community of like-minded tenants who all want to do something similar or who are all on a similar trajectory and create a ‘place’ for them. It may be in the same sector or adjacent sectors (as we’ve seen with life science) that can then collectively grow. In contrast, isolated buildings – no matter how upgraded – often struggle to attract sustained tenant demand.”
Leeson pointed to the roles that targeted local planning and public-private collaboration can play.
“We’re doing a lot of work with Harlow, for example – where we’re supporting them on their town centre regeneration programme, mostly residential-led, but supported by a new transport hub and cultural quarter. They recognised quite early that they needed to create the right environment for both business and the wider community through innovation hubs and clusters of similar activities to generate momentum. They reinforced it with their own investment and created a positive planning environment for investors to come in and build. Understanding and building on both a local and regional market was key to coming up with the right answer.”
The comment underscored a broader challenge: Many local authorities lack the planning resources or experience to support this kind of proactive regeneration. “Often people just don’t have the number of resources – or frankly the experience – to deliver those sorts of policies,” Leeson said.
In this context, Leeson argued, the private sector could have a vital role to play:
“I’ve been a strong advocate of privatisation of parts of the planning process. The private sector can step in and fill that void with expertise and drive through the early stages – alignment to policy, administrative processes like notifications and consultation etc. – with the democratic part of the planning process – committee stage – remaining local and overseen by locally elected members. The process itself can be supported more robustly with private expertise and resources.”
Clusters also offer a dynamic solution for growing businesses, many of whom are seeking shorter leases, lower capital expenditure commitments and space that can adapt to change.
Alex Smith, an architect and partner at Sheppard Robson, highlighted how some landlords are responding: “There are some developers who do flexibility very well. You sign a lease with them and they say, ‘We’ll springboard you to another building, we’ve got the portfolio to support your growth.’ ” This approach not only supports tenant growth but also mitigates landlord risk and strengthens portfolio resilience by spreading risk and enabling asset re-use across a wider catchment.
From an investment standpoint, clustering enables shared infrastructure – such as bike storage, ESG-compliant energy systems, and collaboration spaces – that may be unviable in standalone buildings. When underpinned by clear tenant demand and careful market analysis, clusters can transform struggling office assets into viable, vibrant workplaces.
In a market where single assets may struggle to stand out, reimagining them as part of a broader network provides a socially inclusive, economically diverse and future-facing solution to the subprime office challenge.
In an eight-part weekly series, the London real estate team will share insights drawn from a roundtable attended by a group of cross-practice industry experts to discuss the issues posed by subprime or so-called secondary offices with a view to proposing innovative, workable solutions. Each article focuses on a key “call for action” – a targeted idea to support those grappling with the realities of an evolving office market. Readers will hear directly from discussion participants, with selected quotes and real-life examples that bring to life the creative thinking and grounded advice contributors shared. To receive future updates on this topic, please email [email protected].