Services
Using an advisor or going direct
Approaching operators directly does not secure a lower rate, because commission is priced into the rate card whether or not an advisor is involved.
Going direct to a flexible workspace operator in Singapore does not produce a better price. Operators build commission into their rate card regardless of how an enquiry arrives, so the rate offered to a direct enquiry is not discounted. What going direct does remove is the comparison across operators, the negotiation and the benchmark against current market terms.
The choice is therefore not between paying a fee and avoiding one. There is no fee to the occupier either way. The choice is between running the search yourself and having it run for you.
What going direct actually involves
An occupier running a search alone typically approaches the operators already familiar to them, which in Singapore means three or four of the largest names. That is a fraction of the market, and the centres best matched to a specific brief are frequently not the ones with the largest marketing presence.
From there the work is sequential and slow. Each operator is contacted separately. Viewings are arranged individually and scattered across the week. Proposals arrive on different bases and at different times, and the operators who do not respond have to be chased. Each proposal then has to be read closely enough to establish what it excludes, which requires knowing what to look for.
The load falls on whoever in the business has the least room for it. In a company of eleven to fifty people that is usually a founder, an operations lead or a finance manager whose actual responsibilities do not pause while the search runs.
What an advisor does that an operator cannot
Represents you rather than a landlord
An operator's sales team is measured on filling that operator's centres. They are capable and well informed about their own product, and they cannot tell you that a competitor is offering better terms for your brief. We are on the other side of the table.
Covers the whole market
We approach operators across the market, including those outside the handful of names most occupiers recognise, and shortlist on fit rather than on familiarity. The comparison starts from the market rather than from your existing awareness of it.
Knows what is currently being agreed
Rate cards are the starting position, not the settlement. Because we run these negotiations continuously across operators and micromarkets, we know which levers a particular operator will move on in current conditions — rate, rent-free period, deposit, notice or renewal cap — and which are fixed.
Normalises the proposals
We rebuild every quote on a single comparable basis, adding excluded items back at the operator's stated charges and converting incentives into figures. This is the step that reveals which proposal is genuinely cheaper over the full term, and it is the step an occupier running a search alone is least equipped to complete.
Protects the renewal position
Renewal is where flexible workspace occupiers are most exposed, because the practical alternative to accepting an increase is a full relocation. We negotiate the renewal position at the outset, when there is still competitive tension, rather than at the point the increase is proposed.
Occupiers assume going direct removes a cost from the transaction. It does not. It removes the only party in the transaction whose interests are aligned with theirs.
When going direct is reasonable
There are cases where an advisor adds little, and it is worth saying so plainly. A single hot desk or a one or two person office on a rolling monthly agreement is a low-stakes decision with limited negotiating room, and an occupier who already knows the centre they want can reasonably take it directly. The same applies where a business is extending in a building it already occupies and is content with the terms offered.
Advisory support matters most where the commitment is longer, the headcount is larger or growing, the requirement is client-facing, the business is new to Singapore, or a renewal increase has been proposed. In each of those cases the value of the comparison exceeds the effort of running one, and the effort costs you nothing.
Considering a conventional lease as well?
Our Occupier Strategy and Solutions team advises across the full commercial property line — site selection, lease negotiation and portfolio management — so the flexible option is assessed against the alternative rather than in isolation.
Frequently asked questions
Will I get a cheaper rate if I go direct to the operator?
No. Operators price commission into the rate card regardless of how an enquiry arrives, so a direct enquiry is not quoted at a discount. Going direct removes the comparison across operators and the negotiation, not a cost from the transaction.
Does it cost me anything to use a flexible workspace advisor?
No. Knight Frank is paid by the operator on completion, in the same way an agent is paid on any commercial letting. The service is delivered at no cost to you and you pay the operator's rate either way.
Can an operator refuse to work with my advisor?
In practice this is rare, as operators pay agency commission as a normal cost of acquisition and value a qualified, well-defined requirement. Where an occupier has already registered directly with an operator before appointing an advisor, the position should be raised at the outset.
What if I have already started a search myself?
We can take over a search in progress, including rebuilding proposals you have already received onto a common basis and reopening terms. Tell us which operators you have contacted and when, so the position with each can be established.
Is an advisor worth it for a small requirement?
For a single desk or a rolling monthly agreement in a centre you have already chosen, the benefit is limited. For anything with a fixed term, a growing headcount or a renewal attached, the comparison is worth having, particularly as it costs you nothing.
How long does it take to work with an advisor?
Most searches run four to eight weeks from brief to signed agreement. The advisor route is generally faster than running a search in-house, because viewings are consolidated and operators respond more quickly to a defined brief from a known source.
