OPEX

OPEX vs CAPEX in real estate: why it changes everything

How you structure your real estate spending between OPEX and CAPEX has direct consequences on your finances, your flexibility and your capacity to invest.

A classic lease = a CAPEX + OPEX mix. When you sign a 3/6/9 lease, rent and charges are OPEX (recurring expenses). But fit-out works, furniture and the security deposit (3 to 6 months' rent) are CAPEX. This capital is tied up from day one, before the first employee even moves in.

An operated office = 100% OPEX. The monthly flat fee covers everything: space, furniture, services, maintenance. No upfront investment, no CAPEX to depreciate. Every euro spent is an immediately deductible operating expense.

Why CFOs prefer OPEX:

Cash is not tied up. The €100,000 to €300,000 that would have been swallowed up in fit-out and security deposit remain available for the business: recruitment, R&D, commercial development.

Budget predictability is total. A fixed monthly flat fee, with no surprise service charge reconciliation at year-end, no unexpected maintenance invoice.

Flexibility is maximised. In OPEX, you can adjust your real estate spending up or down without asset loss. In CAPEX, the works carried out in your old premises are lost if you move.

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Anatomy of real estate OPEX: the cost items to know

To manage your OPEX, you need to know each component and its relative weight. Here is the typical breakdown for a 500 sqm Parisian office:

Rent (60 to 70% of total OPEX). The main item. It is the most visible cost, but not always the most optimisable, negotiating margins are limited once the lease is signed (except at the triennial review date).

Service charges (10 to 15%). Heating, air conditioning, water, upkeep of common areas, security, building management. They are provisioned monthly and reconciled once a year. Note: the gap between the provision and the reconciliation can represent several thousand euros, up or down.

Energy (5 to 10%). Electricity and gas for private spaces.

Operating services (10 to 15%). Cleaning, routine maintenance, physical reception, security. These are the items where negotiating and regularly putting service providers out to tender yield the fastest savings.

Taxes (5 to 8%). Office tax in Île-de-France, property tax (often rebilled to the tenant), CFE. These are constrained items, not very negotiable, but must absolutely be included in comparisons.

Consumables and miscellaneous (3 to 5%). Office supplies, coffee, water, small equipment, postage, various subscriptions.

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5 levers to optimise your real estate OPEX

1. Audit your service charges. Request a breakdown of the last reconciliation and compare each item with market averages. Security, common area maintenance and management charges are often oversized in older buildings.

2. Renegotiate your service contracts every 2 years. Systematically play the competition: request 3 quotes at each renewal. The differences between providers for the same level of service often reach 20 to 30%.

3. Reduce your energy consumption. Smart heating and air conditioning scheduling, switching to LED lighting with presence detection, automatic shutdown of equipment in the evening. These quick wins reduce your bill without heavy investment.

4. Adapt your surface area to actual usage. Every unused sqm generates OPEX for nothing: rent, charges, energy, cleaning. If your occupancy rate is below 65%, moving to flex office or adding value to excess spaces via an operator mechanically reduces your OPEX.

5. Switch to an all-inclusive model. Rather than managing 15 lines of expenditure with as many providers, an all-inclusive package (operated office) groups everything into a single, predictable budget line. OPEX is simplified, and so is management. This is the model towards which more and more SMEs and scale-ups are converging.

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The Sora model: turning OPEX into a strategic lever

Sora acts on OPEX from both sides of the market:

For Hosts, unused spaces generate dead-weight OPEX (rent, charges, energy, maintenance on empty sqm). By entrusting these spaces to Sora, the Host transforms this net cost into recurring revenue. The OPEX of these surfaces is covered by the income generated by the Guests. The complete financial analysis (rent, charges, taxes, OPEX) carried out by Sora during the audit phase precisely determines the achievable coverage rate.

For Guests, the Sora package is 100% OPEX: one all-inclusive price, one monthly invoice, zero upfront CAPEX. The real estate budget becomes a predictable and adjustable line, with no surprises or capital tied up.