.png)
The terms on which a prime office leases have shifted decisively, as the shell-and-core, long-lease model gives way to a service-led approach. The Leasing & CX Tribe at CREAM UK 2026 examined what actually closes a deal today: premium locations judged at street level, genuine hospitality, flexible terms and faultless connectivity. The clear message was that owning space is becoming an operating business rather than a passive holding - and that delivering it requires skills, talent and capital many traditional firms do not yet have.
Tribe Host: Liam Graham (Cellnex)
Co-Hosts: Sarah Goldman (Related Argent), Georgia Sandom (Office Space in Town), Mark Radford (The Crown Estate), Greg Miley (Clockwise), Louise Ioannou (HB Reavis) and Phil Haddleton (Native Land)
Summarised by: Edgar To
The Flight to Quality and Hyper-Specific Locations
Location remains paramount, but the criteria have become extraordinarily specific - sometimes coming down to one side of a street versus the other. Occupiers prioritise spaces near major transport hubs to make the commute worthwhile for employees, and they expect the building itself to offer substantial value-add amenities, such as communal roof terraces and town hall spaces, that act as an extension of the office and earn their place against the alternative of working from home.
The Rise of Fully Managed Space
There is a pronounced shift towards fully fitted and managed workspaces across a far broader range of occupier sizes. Many businesses want to avoid the heavy capital expenditure of fitting out their own space and prefer plug-and-play solutions that let them focus purely on their core operations. As a result, institutional landlords are increasingly being forced to adopt an operational model simply to compete.
Office Space as a Hospitality Business
That model is, in effect, a hospitality business. The tenant experience now turns on the quality of front-of-house staff, community managers and on-site amenities - dedicated baristas, curated community events - and high-quality customer service has become one of the most effective levers for tenant retention.
Connectivity as a Dealbreaker
Connectivity sits alongside service as a genuine dealbreaker: both fibre internet and seamless 5G coverage are now critical requirements, and dead zones such as dropped calls in lifts or weak signal from surrounding construction can directly influence leasing decisions at C-suite level.
ESG as a Baseline, Not a Differentiator
ESG has largely moved from differentiator to baseline. Sustainability features such as fully electric buildings are increasingly demanded, but credentials are now expected rather than rewarded. Priorities still vary by sector - some heavy financial and trading occupiers continue to prioritise power resilience and operational uptime over pure environmental performance.
Biggest Opportunity: Driving Yield and Retention Through Community and Flexibility
The strongest opportunity lies in driving yield and retention through community and flexibility. By embracing the fully managed, amenity-rich model, landlords can reduce void periods and, in the right buildings, command rental premiums. Those who invest in creating genuine stickiness - shared terraces, in-house events, and consistently excellent service - are seeing retention improve, because tenants are reluctant to leave an environment that caters so thoroughly to their needs. The prize is a building that competes on experience rather than price alone, and an occupier base that stays.
Biggest Challenge: Scaling the Operational Burden and Securing Talent
The principal obstacle is scaling the operational burden and securing the right talent. As buildings demand more intensive, high-touch management, traditional landlords and asset managers often lack the internal resources, time and specialist skill sets to deliver hospitality at this level. Making the transition means hiring non-property professionals - hospitality, concierge and technical operations experts - which represents both a significant cultural shift and a real financial commitment for traditional real estate firms. Compounding this, conventional valuation models struggle to price the revenue generated by short-term, flexible leases against the certainty of traditional long-term contracts, leaving owners to manage a more operational business with tools built for a simpler one.
CREAM UK took place on 23 June 2026 at Fulham Pier, London.
Find out more about the event at space-plus.org/cream-uk
