HONG KONG, CHINA–Globally, the average annual cost per workstation rose by 1.5% over the last 12 months — an increase driven in part by the Americas, which saw a 4.2% uptick in costs. But the most expensive office market in the world can be found in Hong Kong, according to Cushman & Wakefield's annual Office Space Across the World report. The city has replaced London's West End as the highest-cost office market in which to accommodate staff, the report said.

C&W used proprietary data to rank the occupancy costs per workstation and workplace densities for office space around the world. The report surveys occupancy costs across 215 office markets in 58 countries or regions.

It found Hong Kong to be the most expensive due to limited availability and strong demand from mainland Chinese corporations; costs rose 5.5% to $27,432. To illustrate the city's relative costs, C&W noted that for the same cost of accommodating 100 staff in a Hong Kong office, 300 can be accommodated in Toronto, 500 in Madrid, and 900 in Mumbai.