June 19, 2019

Coworking is now the key driver of change in property market

by Daniel Wright • Comment, Property, Workplace design

Having disrupted the property sector over the last decade, coworking continues to impact investors, developers and end users as the concept appears to be the dominant force in the commercial sector. Coworking can trace its roots back as far as the 1980s when Regus (now part of IWG) popularised the idea of a serviced office, by taking on leases of office buildings, subdividing the available space and leasing it out to small business, fully furnished and ready to rent. More →

June 18, 2019

Coworking is reshaping office market in London

by Neil Franklin • Coworking, News

The flexible office and coworking markets have grown rapidly over the last five years, with more than 4 million sq ft leased to flexible office providers in Central London, according to a new report from digital office broker Hubble in partnership with JLL. Despite WeWork dominating the headlines and pioneering the uptake of coworking, the London market remains highly fragmented, with more than 150 providers offering some form of flex or coworking space in more than 650 separate locations. Flexible offices are projected to grow to a 11 percent share of overall office stock in London by 2023. At the end of 2018, flexible offices had a 6.3 percent share of the Central London market (14.7 million sq. ft.) and this number is set to keep growing. More →

June 10, 2019

Coworking disrupts office design ⁰

by Paul Goodchild • Comment, Coworking, Facilities management, Flexible working, Workplace design

In his book How Buildings Learn, the author Stewart Brand outlines the process whereby buildings evolve over time to meet the changing needs of their occupants. He describes each building as consisting of six layers, each of which functions on a different timescale. These range from the site itself which has a life cycle measured in centuries, through to the building (decades), interior fit out (years), technology (months), to stuff (days). The effectiveness of a design will depend on how well it resolves the tensions that exist between these layers of the building, and this is one of the benefits of coworking that isn’t discussed enough.

June 3, 2019

Come for the rent, stay for the experience of coworking

by Aki Stamatis • Comment, Coworking, Workplace design

When attending last year’s CoreNet Global Summit in Boston, there was a poll of the real estate executives gathered to discuss the key trends affecting the world of commercial property. During the event we were asked about our attitudes to coworking by the event organisers and Cushman & Wakefield. What emerged was a portrait of genuine revolution in real estate thinking. The number of employees from the respondents’ organisations using coworking space had doubled in the previous two years and now stood at around 11 percent of all employees. More →

May 31, 2019

London leads the way in coworking

by George Eltringham • Coworking, News

Over recent years, we have witnessed significant changes when it comes to the workplace. Women are continuing to push through the glass ceiling, offices are starting to look more likes homes and businesses are opting for a more flexible and sociable working environment. This rise in coworking and other forms of flexible office space is just one of the latest trends to emerge from the corporate world, and according to a report by office brokers Office Freedom, London is at the forefront of this growing market. More →

April 24, 2019

The meteor strike of coworking and the beasts that will remain

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Property, Workplace design

The concept of coworking has only been with us for a short time, but there are already signs that it is evolving into something rather different. The most common misperception about the way evolution works is that it is based on some steady progression, driven by the merciless principle of survival of the fittest, with the best adapted climbing towards the top of an evolutionary tree. This gives rise to one of the most common questions posed by sceptics: if we evolved from apes, why are there still apes?

April 3, 2019

Coworking and a new golden era for the workplace and the people who inhabit it

by Gary Chandler • Comment, Coworking, Workplace design

The idea of coworking is starting to resonate with a growing number of businesses and for a growing number of reasons. People new to the concept, or those who are aware primarily of its roots, may discover or retain a notion that it is a way for start-ups and freelancers to share space as a way of keeping down costs or networking with similar organisations. There is still a great deal of truth in this, given that the initial growth of coworking was based almost exclusively on the need for small tech and creative organisations to occupy space near to their larger clients, in precisely those urban enclaves that demand eye-watering rents and conventional leases.

April 3, 2019

London, Paris and Stockholm lead ranks of European coworking hotspots

by Neil Franklin • Coworking, News, Property

London, Paris and Stockholm are among the major cities featured in a new research report from Cushman & Wakefield (registration) into the coworking and flexible office sectors, which pinpoints future demand and the next likely growth hotspots across Europe. According to the report, coworking’s rapid expansion in recent years has quickly disrupted global office markets. The report charts the current state of the sector, the emergence of flexible working space across continental Europe and where future growth will occur. More →

January 23, 2019

Landsec becomes latest major property firm to offer coworking space

by Mark Eltringham • Company news, Coworking, Property

Landsec has launched its new flexible office brand, Myo, which it claims will provide customised office space for businesses looking for flexibility to enable future growth from April of this year. Coworking in other words. The move is the latest example of a major commercial property firm entering the market for flexible offices and coworking space in the wake of its recent boom. Myo will operate as a standalone brand, offers flexible leases ranging from 12 months to three years for businesses that need space for between 15 and 80 people.

November 27, 2018

Coworking and creative sectors help boost London office space

by Sara Bean • Cities, Facilities management, News, Property

Take-up of office space in Central London has shown a year-on-year increase of 30 percent, reaching 1.3m sq ft in October, according to CBRE. Take-up was strong from creative firms, representing 18 percent of all deals, including the largest deal of the month which saw McCann Erickson take 146,400 sq ft at 135 Bishopsgate EC2. Flexible office operators took 122,300 sq ft of space during the month, bringing the proportion of take-up represented by the flexible office sector in the last 12 months to 19 percent. The largest flex acquisition in October saw Landmark Spaces acquire 37,800 sq ft at Portman House in the West End. More →

November 23, 2018

Communities are the key factor to rapid growth of coworking

by Petr Boruta • Comment, Coworking, Property, Workplace design

London, New York, Los Angeles. These are top three cities in number of coworking centres globally. But as coworking map is evolving rapidly, you might as well read about Warsaw and Prague as new hotbeds for shared offices soon. And the surprising reason behind that is not flexibility, but the power of communities.

November 13, 2018

A quarter of corporate global workforce could inhabit coworking space within five years

by Neil Franklin • Coworking, News, Property

Over the next five years, corporate real estate professionals are set to dramatically increase their use of coworking spaces to house employees, according to a survey conducted at the CoreNet Global Summit in Boston. According to the results, the percentage of employees at respondents’ companies utilising coworking spaces such as that offered by WeWork (pictured) has doubled over the past two years. The survey was conducted by Cushman & Wakefield and CoreNet Global during the course of the three-day summit and was completed by more than 220 corporate real estate executives and industry service providers.