Edinburgh's Flexible Workspace Market is Thriving, and We were Delighted to Host FlexSA
In March 2026, we were delighted to host a very well attended Flexible Space Association (FlexSA) Roundtable Meeting and Workspace Visit at The Auction Rooms Edinburgh. The group packed a great deal into a single hour.
Discussion covered planned new openings, busy meeting rooms, and the sheer variety of workspace now on offer across the city. Steven Carr gave an update on the Scottish flex market, pointing to high occupancy rates alongside a clear gap in supply: strong interest in industrial flex space, but very little of it available.
The group then toured The Auction Rooms with Valentina Buschittari, before heading to nearby WeWork for a second tour with Christopher Sykes. Two contrasting workspaces, offering similar services in very different settings, a useful reminder of how much choice Edinburgh businesses now have when it comes to flexible space.
The Numbers behind the Confidence
The visit coincided with a press release from FlexSA, built on data from The Instant Group, which put some figures behind the mood in the room. Average desk rates across Edinburgh have risen 8% year on year, reaching £403 per desk per month. Smaller enquiries are driving that demand: 1 to 9 desk requests made up 80% of all enquiries in 2025, and the smallest bracket, 1 to 2 desks, grew from 46% of enquiries in 2024 to 55% in 2025. FlexSA's Executive Director, Jane Sartin, described this as evidence of confident pricing and “a real appetite for spaces that support the way people want to work today.”
Edinburgh's Business Ecosystem is Having a Moment
This is not an isolated signal. In June, the British Council for Offices (BCO) held its Annual Conference in Edinburgh, its first return to Scotland since 2009, following previous conferences in 1999 and 2002.
Edinburgh is widely reported to be the UK's second largest financial centre after London, home to long established institutions such as Scottish Widows and Aberdeen Group, alongside a fast growing fintech and tech scene built around hubs like CodeBase and Techscaler, and talent from the University of Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt University and Edinburgh Napier University.
Why choose Edinburgh for your Business
For a business deciding where to base itself, or where to open a second office, Edinburgh offers a combination that is hard to find elsewhere in the UK: deep access to financial and professional services expertise, a strong talent pipeline from three respected universities, active support from Scottish Enterprise and Business Gateway, and a quality of life that helps attract and keep good people.
It is also, increasingly, a city that works for businesses of every size. The FlexSA data above shows a flexible workspace market shaped around 1 to 10 desk businesses just as much as larger occupiers, and the roundtable heard first hand how operators across the city are adapting to serve that range.
The Standard of Workspace at The Auction Rooms
The Auction Rooms Edinburgh sits at the more considered end of the market. Set in a characterful Georgian building on Queen Street, it offers an alternative to the corporate feel of larger operators, without compromising on the meeting rooms, service and reliability that a growing business needs from its base.
For companies looking to establish a credible Scottish HQ, whether that is a small leadership team, a business testing the Scottish market from London or the South East, or a company that starts with a virtual office and grows into more space, The Auction Rooms is designed to support that journey.
Thank you to FlexSA, Steven Carr, Valentina Buschittari and Christopher Sykes for a thoughtful and well organised morning. Edinburgh's flexible workspace market is in good health, and we are proud to be part of the story it is telling. If you are considering Edinburgh for your next office, get in touch to arrange a visit.