Market analysis
The real cost of flexibility
A like-for-like comparison of a conventional lease against a flexible agreement over three years, with the line items most business cases leave out.
Headline findings
Rent is the smallest part of the argument
Fit-out, furniture, IT, cleaning, reception, service charge, dilapidations, and the cost of the people who manage all of it rarely appear in the headline comparison — and they are where the difference lives.
Capital is the real trade
A conventional lease converts cash into a fit-out you cannot take with you. A flexible agreement converts it into a monthly figure. Which is better depends entirely on what else that capital could be doing.
Where flex stops winning
For a stable headcount in one city over a long horizon, a conventional lease usually costs less per seat. We would rather say so than pretend otherwise.
