Shared Service in Commercial Real Estates in Stockholm

Abstract: The office market in Stockholm is constantly evolving, and property owners must actively work to meet tenants' demand for office spaces. The increased demand for alternative office solutions has led to the development of coworking facilities and fully furnished offices. Digitalization and the ability to work remotely have raised higher expectations for offices. Consequently, shared services have become a significant part of the current development in commercial offices, aiming to provide attractive workspaces that employees want to be in. The purpose of this master thesis is to map the shared services offered by property owners in their properties, how shared services are included in lease agreements, what property owners consider to be included in the concept of shared services, and how companies manage their customer relationships. The objective is to gain a deeper understanding of the evolution and applications of shared services in the commercial real estate market in Stockholm. The concept is rooted in value creation of properties, customer relationships, business models, and strategies. To achieve the goals and objectives of the master thesis, a qualitative study was conducted. Additionally, a literature review and  an empirical study was carried out through semi-structured interviews with the nine largest property owners in Stockholm. The results showed that property owners have different perspectives on the concept of shared services and that shared services can be categorized into three different levels with the lowest level being changing rooms, shared reception and bicycle rooms. The next level includes car parking, conference facilities, bookable meeting rooms, a gym and the last level is peculiar services such as dog daycare, laundry handling and car charging points. Furthermore, the results indicate that some property owners have chosen to implement more shared services in their portfolios than others. Property owners have also chosen different methods to account for the fee for shared services in lease agreements, with the majority of the companies charging it as x SEK/sqm . The authors also note that property owners have expanded their range of office solutions to adapt to the current market such as coworking and fully furnished offices.