Demand for coastal office space surges as hybrid working sticks
New data has revealed increased usage of offices and flexible workspaces by the sea, as workers take advantage of hybrid working to cut long, costly commutes.
Footfall analysis of more than 300 UK locations by International Workplace Group (IWG), the world’s largest office and flexible workspace provider, found that coastal locations including Cardiff (50%), Fareham (46%), Liverpool (46%), Aberdeen (29%) and Exeter (19%) have seen major increases in footfall over the past two years.
Swathes of workers chose to leave their city lives behind in favour of new lives by the coast during and after the Covid-19 pandemic, with IWG’s data showing that many are working by the sea too.
The most recent migration data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) highlighted a decline in population within major cities, while the most significant population increases were in coastal towns*.
This has resulted in an increase in property prices – in 2024, the prices of coastal properties surged at a rate five times greater than the national average for property prices (4.2% vs 0.8%)**.
IWG’s coastal network has grown significantly in recent years to help meet the demand for seaside working. In 2024 it opened 24 new locations within two miles of the sea, including Margate, Dundee, Southampton, Banff, Ellesmere Port and Birkenhead.
Research by IWG among workers that have moved to the coast found that flexibility is vital to job satisfaction, with 83% saying they would look for a new job if they had less flexibility or were mandated back to a central office five days a week (78%). Three in five (63%) said they had already moved jobs to maintain their coastal lifestyle***.
Additionally, nine in 10 (90%) say they are more productive working in a hybrid model, with up to 69% regularly using flexible workspaces on the coast, rising to 74% amongst 18–24-year-olds.
The research also found that since moving to a coastal town, hybrid workers have reported a better quality of life (75%), a healthier lifestyle (68%) and improved work-life balance (67%).
Mark Dixon, CEO of International Workplace Group commented: “Hybrid working has reshaped where and how people choose to live and work. Freed from the need to commute into a city centre HQ five days a week, many employees are now relocating to coastal towns that were previously out of reach. This shift is not only improving quality of life for employees but also delivering an economic boost to these communities as new residents bring spending power and demand for services.”
“At IWG, we’re seeing strong growth in demand for flexible workspaces in coastal and regional locations. Our network continues to expand to support hybrid businesses looking to drive productivity, reduce costs, and enable their teams to work wherever they are most effective.”