Prêt à passer à l'action ?
Between long, rigid commercial leases on the one hand, and expensive coworking spaces on the other, the office market is struggling to respond to new hybrid working patterns. The obvious solution when you have chosen to lease in order to make your empty square footage profitable is subletting. Although Sopra Steria has done this with some buildings, it is not really the solution that was chosen for the Place de l'Étoile project, but rather under-occupancy.
When a key industry actor endorses a new office model
We are proud to announce the signing of a strategic partnership with Sopra Steria, a major player in consulting, digital services, and software publishing in Europe. This is a seven-year commitment covering approximately 3,000 square meters at Place de l'Étoile in Paris.
With Sora, the company is entering a new era of flexible office space: under-occupancy. In a context of economic and environmental pressure, reusing existing space is becoming imperative. Sora is therefore the ideal solution for reconciling these economic and ecological challenges.
This is a structural real estate decision, taken with full awareness of its economic, operational, and environmental implications. And it is a decision that makes us particularly proud, as it reflects the confidence that Sopra Steria has in our model and our vision.
We would like to warmly thank Gérard Touati and all the Sopra Steria teams for the quality of the discussions that made this partnership possible, and for the vision they embody through this choice.
The boom in managed office space
The operated office has often been associated with a short-term solution, reserved for lightweight structures. When an organization of this size and with these requirements commits to it for seven years, it sends a clear message to the entire real estate market: this model is establishing itself as a credible alternative to traditional models, intended for all companies.
The transaction was also based on the Sora model: that of service agreement. Sora therefore operates directly in its partner's premises, without lease transfers, subleases or legal complexities, and manages the existing square footage. For Sopra Steria, the office was already fully equipped, so Justine (dedicated Workplace Manager) takes care of all the needs of both the Host (Sopra Steria) and Guest companies and ensures their day-to-day operation.
The main tenant retains its lease, space, and identity. It simply entrusts Sora with the valuation of what it does not use.
A broader cause: ending vacancy
This partnership is part of an ambition that goes far beyond the two signatories. In Europe, nearly one in two workstations is empty. Strictly empty. These offices are heated in winter, air-conditioned in summer, lit every day, and equipped with regularly updated equipment. And yet, no one sits there.
Each unoccupied office emits up to one ton of CO₂ per year. For nothing. In Paris alone, nearly 6 million square meters of office space remain unoccupied, representing massive carbon emissions, colossal fixed costs, and a large-scale waste of resources, while, paradoxically, new buildings continue to be constructed.
Through this partnership, and those that will follow, the ambition remains the same: to help reduce these millions of square meters of unused space, cut unnecessary carbon emissions, and restore economic value to every existing square meter. Economic pressure is pushing companies to optimize their fixed costs. Regulatory and societal pressure is pushing them to reduce their environmental footprint. In this context, reusing existing space is not just one option among many. It is the most logical, quickest to implement, and often the most cost-effective solution.
The future of offices is not being built, it is being reused.
