What makes an office suitable for a consulting firm?
An office suited to a consulting firm is one that is sized based on the actual number of consultants present rather than the total headcount. It provides spaces for meeting with clients, ensures the confidentiality of projects, and adapts to the pace of business.
Consulting is a brain-intensive profession: the firm doesn’t sell products or machines—it sells the time and expertise of its teams. Its offices therefore serve three purposes at once. They are a showcase for clients, a workspace for producing deliverables, and a training ground where junior staff learn from managers.
The industry is also cyclical. In 2025, consulting and research activity declined by 2 percent and headcount by 2.6 percent, with strategy and management consulting limiting the decline to 1.5 percent (Source: Syntec Conseil). In this context, an overly rigid office quickly becomes a fixed cost that is difficult to absorb.
For an overview of the needs shared by all consulting, expert services, and other service industries, our industry guide details the common criteria.
Read the article: What Kind of Office Should a Business Services Company Choose?
What criteria should be used to select offices for a consulting firm?
The offices of a consulting firm are selected based on five criteria: actual occupancy rate, the quality of client meeting rooms, confidentiality, the ability to accommodate junior staff, andaccessibility.
Actual attendance is often lower than the total number of employees
In the consulting industry, some consultants spend their days at the client’s office. On top of that, there is hybrid work. Between mid-2022 and mid-2024, 66% of corporate administrative and sales executives worked remotely at least once a month, averaging 1.9 days per week (Source: INSEE).
A firm with 20 consultants therefore rarely has all 20 people in the office on the same day. In-person work tends to be concentrated around a few key events: team meetings, reviews of deliverables, and preparation for a presentation.
Rooms for workshops and thesis defenses
Clients come to the office for a workshop, a steering committee meeting, or a project debrief. This requires a room equipped with videoconferencing capabilities and a screen, and one that is the right size. A room that seats four people is useless for a committee of 10.
These needs are occasional but crucial for your image. Being able to reserve a room by the hour saves you from paying for a large room all year long when you only use it twice a month. It’s also a good idea to check their availability during the times when your committee meetings are usually held.
Confidentiality of Assignments
A consultant handles strategic information: merger proposals, reorganization plans, and financial data. The Commercial Code protects, under the category of trade secrets, information that is subject to “reasonable protective measures” on the part of its holder (Source: Légifrance, [SOURCE TO BE VERIFIED]).
In practice, this means closed offices, phone booths for sensitive calls, and controlled access to the premises. Mobility adds another risk: the CNIL guide devotes an entire section to securing mobile computing, including the theft or loss of equipment outside the premises (Source: CNIL).
A place to train young players
Consulting firms hire many recent graduates, who are drawn to an industry perceived as a career accelerator and a highly formative environment (Source: Syntec Conseil). However, consulting is learned primarily by example: junior consultants learn by observing how a manager structures a deliverable or conducts an interview.
In fact, new hires work remotely less often than their colleagues, in part because employers want to help them integrate into the team (Source: INSEE). The office therefore remains a tool for training and fostering corporate culture, even when the team is often spread out, particularly during a new hire’s first few months.
Accessibility for Teams on the Go
A consultant who leaves on Monday morning to visit a client in Lyon or Lille saves time if his office is near a TGV station. The same logic applies to clients who come to the office. A location in a well-connected business district also makes it easier to schedule appointments at the end of the day.
To verify these criteria during a site visit, our guide lists the points to check before choosing a workspace.
Which office plan should you choose based on the size of your firm?
The right approach depends primarily on the size of the firm and the proportion of time spent on client assignments. The more mobile the team is, the more appropriate it is to pay on a pay-as-you-go basis rather than per square meter.
The Independent Consultant
A consultant just starting out needs, above all, a business address and a place to meet with clients. A registered address meets the first need, while an hourly meeting room meets the second.
When you want to get out of the house between assignments, nomadic coworking offers a temporary workspace and an environment that’s ideal for meeting other freelancers, who are often a source of referrals.
A firm with 2 to 15 consultants
At this stage, the firm needs a designated, secure space where it can store its files. A fully equipped private office is the most common option: it ensures confidentiality and can be expanded as the firm grows, without the need for renovations or a long-term lease.
For two or three partners just starting out, a private office shared with a non-competing firm reduces the cost per workstation. Our article on choosing office space for a very small business details these trade-offs for small businesses.
A structured firm or a large firm
Once you have more than 20 consultants, the key consideration becomes flexibility. A private office area within a flexible workspace allows you to add workstations after winning a major project and then reduce them if business slows down. Our guide on choosing office space for an SME compares the options for these team sizes.
Large firms and the Big Four also use flexible office space for specific purposes: opening a regional office, stationing a project team near a client for several months, or testing a new market before making a major real estate commitment.
The 3/6/9 Commercial Lease
A traditional lease remains a good fit for a firm with a stable workforce that has long-term visibility and wants office space that fully reflects its image.
In return, it requires a long-term commitment, renovation work, and the management of numerous service providers. Added to this are rental expenses averaging 15 to 25 percent of the rent and a security deposit often ranging from 3 to 6 months’ rent—cash tied up that could otherwise be used to fund new hires. This choice therefore requires a clear outlook on the firm’s order book.
To help you choose between these two models based on your level of involvement in the business, we'll compare them point by point.
Read the comparison: 3/6/9-month lease vs. flexible office space
How much does an office cost for a consulting firm?
The cost of an office for a consulting firm is measured less by the price of the space than by the cost per consultant actually present. This is where the biggest differences lie, far beyond the listed rent, as shown by our analysis of the actual cost of an office per employee.
Calculate costs based on the number of consultants present
The same firm with 8 workstations (7 in use and one spare) pays €3,200 (excluding tax). The difference amounts to €19,200 (excluding tax) per year, part of which can be used to fund on-demand meeting rooms for client workshops. In Paris, where an equivalent space for 10 people costs around €6,900 per month in the city center, the savings exceed €30,000 per year (Source: Ubiq).
As a general guideline, a private office in a flexible workspace costs between €350 and €900 per workstation per month in France, depending on the city and the services included (Source: Ubiq).
How to Plan the Size of Your Office in Three Steps
The method consists of three steps. First, measure attendance over four to six typical weeks, including periods of high activity. Next, identify group activities (team meetings, training sessions, seminars) and client meetings over the course of a month. Finally, size the workstations based on observed attendance, and cover peak periods with bookable rooms.
Six out of ten remote workers want to work from home two to four days a week (Source: Dares). It therefore makes sense to plan for fewer full-time positions than there are consultants, even if that means making adjustments as the team evolves.
To compare these budgets with the rates charged city by city and plan by plan, our 2026 price guide provides details on each option.
Flex-O, a flexible office solution for consulting firms
Flex-O offers private offices, coworking spaces, and meeting rooms in 17 locations across 10 French cities. This amounts to nearly 60 meeting rooms across the entire network, providing ample space to host client workshops and steering committees. Several locations are situated near a train station, which is a major advantage for consultants who travel frequently.
In Paris, the center Paris Haussmann is located 140 meters from the Saint-Lazare train station, in the Central Business District. It features 8 meeting rooms that accommodate 4 to 12 people, 28 phone booths for confidential calls, and a 180-square-meter event space that can be reserved for private use.
In Lyon, Lyon Part Dieu is an 8-minute walk from the train station, with 4 meeting rooms and free-access phone booths. To compare business districts, check out our guides on office rentals in Paris and Lyon Part-Dieu provide detailed information on each area.
With the Corporate plan, employees can access the network’s coworking spaces while traveling. A consultant on assignment in Rennes or Bordeaux can therefore work from a local center between appointments. All plans include a Premium internet connection, a dedicated reception team, and access to common areas, freeing partners from the burden of managing office space.
For large firms opening a regional office or setting up a project team, the offering Corporate solution enables them to create satellite offices and adjust office space to match their business volume. Flex-O is also a mission-driven company.
To find the plan that best suits the size and structure of your practice, explore the details of our offerings.
In conclusion: What kind of office space should a consulting firm choose?
The choice of office space for a consulting firm is based on a simple idea: sizing the space according to the actual number of consultants present, rather than the total headcount. Other considerations include the quality of the client meeting rooms, the confidentiality of projects, and accessibility for teams that are often on the road.
Freelancers will rely on virtual office services and on-demand meeting rooms, while small firms will opt for a flexible private office. Large firms will use flexible office solutions for their regional offices and project teams. Traditional leases remain the go-to option for established organizations seeking custom-designed spaces.
Before committing, assess your attendance rate over a few weeks and visit the facilities. Check the soundproofing, the equipment in the rooms, and their availability during your workshop hours.
To move on to the next step, explore the Flex-O centers available throughout France.
FAQ
Does an independent consultant need to rent an office?
Not necessarily right from the start. A virtual office provides a business address, and a meeting room booked by the hour is enough to meet with clients. An office becomes useful when the business starts generating regular appointments or when you hire your first employee.
Can you meet with a client at a coworking space?
Yes, provided you reserve a private meeting room rather than holding the meeting in an open-plan office. A room equipped with a screen and a videoconferencing system conveys a professional image and ensures the confidentiality of discussions.
How can you protect customer files in a shared workspace?
Use a locked office for documents and implement access control for the premises. Use phone booths for sensitive calls, and encrypt laptops, which remain the weakest link for teams that travel frequently.
Where should a consulting firm set up its offices: downtown or near a train station?
It all depends on where your clients are located. If your work is primarily in other cities, being close to a TGV station saves valuable time. If clients frequently visit your office, a central business district with good transportation links enhances your firm’s image and makes it easier to schedule appointments.
Can a consulting firm open a regional office without a commercial lease?
Yes. Flexible office spaces make it possible to open a regional branch with a short-term lease, a fully equipped space, and included services. This allows the firm to test the local market before committing to a larger space. Flex-O offers this type of solution in ten French cities.
Is it necessary to keep offices if consultants are often on assignment?
Yes, because the office remains the place where the team gathers, where junior staff learn from managers, and where the firm meets with clients. The office space, however, can be reduced and supplemented with rooms that can be reserved for group sessions.
Photo credits: Andrey Popov, Nenad – stock.adobe.com, Flex-O
