Although employment in the shared services sector is growing by the year, this has not led to stronger demand for office space. However, SSC/BPO/R&D centres remain key office tenants in Kraków and Wrocław. Warsaw also continues to feature on corporates’ radars, says Newmark Poland.

The BSS sector is driving growth in Polish cities and dominates the regional office landscape. Companies from this sector account for more than half of leased space outside of Warsaw. The first half of 2021 saw companies from the modern business services sector (BSS) lease nearly 210,000 sqm of office space in Poland. This is more than 40% of the total demand registered in the country’s major markets. Excluding Warsaw, BSS companies accounted for as much as 60% of office demand

Warsaw, Krakow and Wrocław offer access to large pools of high-skilled professionals, modern office space and suitable infrastructure. They compete for shared services centres not only with other Polish cities but also with large urban areas worldwide, according to Cresa’s report on the Polish outsourcing market.

2016 could be the first year that European office employment levels surpass the previous peak of 2008, according to Colliers International’s latest research ‘EMEA Offices: Is Flexibility the Future?’. The report shows that office-based employment levels in the EU have grown by 5 million, representing a 4.3 per cent increase over the last 10 years and surpassing the previous peak of 2008.