Knight Frank’s (Y)OUR SPACE events in Australia to examine global trends through a local lens

Dr Elliott’s eight-day tour around Australia, starting on August 20, will see him host more than 20 events in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth. He will meet with more than 300 occupiers, landlords and business leaders via events, meetings, roundtables and panels of local experts, presenting key insights from Knight Frank’s recently-released fourth edition of its (Y)OUR SPACE report, prompting discussion on how global trends are impacting the future of office space in Australia.

Events are being held in conjunction with organisations including the Australian British Chamber of Commerce, The Committee for Brisbane, CoreNet Global Australia and Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA (CCIWA).

Knight Frank’s (Y)OUR SPACE report is an influential global study drawing on insights from nearly 300 senior real estate leaders managing more than 60 million square metres of space. It reveals how high-performing companies are reimagining their workspaces not just to cut costs, but to drive business growth and transformation, boost employee engagement and meet ESG goals.

Dr Elliott said (Y)OUR SPACE events around Australia would delve into how global trends in the evolving landscape of workplace strategy, portfolio management and corporate real estate are shaping the future of business, and what it means for the future of work in each Australian market.

“As organisations worldwide navigate rising complexity and economic uncertainty, the next three years are critical,” he said. “Our Australian events will be undertaken in conjunction with local experts to delve into how global trends are playing out in each city in Australia and reshaping how businesses plan, use and invest in their spaces locally. They will offer practical takeaways for businesses in each city navigating change in corporate real estate and workplaces.”

Knight Frank Partner, National Head of Tenant Representation – Office Katherine Moss said: “Flexibility is key for occupiers, and corporates seek the utopian answer as to how best to bring more flexibility into the rigidity of a lease. The shared spaces and co-working concepts work for some, but not all, and we’re keen to explore in this year’s series of events with occupiers as to what the optimal workplace looks like structurally as well as physically.”

Dr Elliott is passionate about developing market insight and foresight that supports the growth of both occupier and landlord / investor clients, advances real estate industry thinking and solutions and ultimately supports a stronger inter-relationship between the supply and demand-side of global property markets.

Attendees of Knight Friday’s (Y)OUR SPACE events will benefit from being able to:

• Benchmark real estate strategies against global and regional peers
• Gain insights into future workplace trends, including flexibility, ESG and talent attraction
• Inform portfolio decisions with data on mobility, space reconfiguration and amenity demand
• Understand occupier sentiment and evolving workplace needs (e.g., hybrid models, amenity-rich spaces)
• Anticipate demand shifts
• Align asset strategies to right-size portfolio, reduce vacancy risk and enhance asset value

Knight Frank’s recently-released global (Y)OUR SPACE report found corporate real estate leaders were betting on the future of offices as they seek to build resilience into their businesses in the shadow of economic, geo-political and technological disruption.

The research revealed how some of the world’s largest international corporations were seeking to balance costs with the need to transform their business operations, while also offering tech-enabled hybrid workplaces that ensure flexibility and resilience in an uncertain global environment.

As many as 63% of the corporate real estate leaders surveyed expressed concern about economic and geopolitical volatility. But instead of freezing decision-making, companies will need to take action by building optionality into their space strategies, including shorter leases, more flexible formats and locations that align with risk diversification and talent access. Far from pulling back, many corporates will accelerate change, with 50% of respondents expecting their total footprint to grow over the next three to five years. While they’re not abandoning space, they’re optimising relocating and reconfiguring space and - in many cases – entering into more locations as they regionalise their portfolios.

Hybrid models continue to dominate and drive workplace design

Workstyle evolution remains a key factor for corporate real estate leaders, selected by nearly 30% of respondents to the (Y)OUR SPACE survey and the third most influential factor in shaping their real estate strategy over the next 3 years. Despite high profile ‘return to the office’ directives requiring employees to be present five-days a week from some major corporates, these ‘office only’ workstyles are expected to be used by just 10% of those surveyed. 46% expect to follow a hybrid workstyle, and a further 22% plan to be ‘office first’. By contrast, only 7% of those surveyed expect to be ‘remote first’ and just 4% plan to offer a ‘work from anywhere’ arrangement.

A third of respondents said their biggest challenge is improving workplace utilisation. As hybrid work settles into the mainstream, leaders are redesigning offices to support outcomes rather than presence, which means workplaces that drive engagement, support culture, and deliver measurable productivity gains. This renewed focus is reshaping demand for buildings that can flex across workstyles, accommodate service-rich environments, and enable organisations to activate space in ways that go beyond desk count. 63% of respondents believe functional amenities are more important than ‘flashy’ workplace amenities, indicating a focus on purposeful design over prestige, while 45% of respondents suggest their future strategy will focus on a flight to value, prioritising cost-efficient space to optimise budgets and operational flexibility.