July 8, 2022

Flex office space market in UK set to increase by half over next four years

by Neil Franklin • Company news, Property

Hybrid working policies are driving demand in the flexible workspace market as companies are using coworking and serviced offices at record levels. In its annual UK Market Update Report, The Instant Group’s data claims that demand for flex office space across the country is up 22 percent in the last 12 months. Cities – such as Leeds and Manchester are leading the way in this increase although there are also signs of a recovery in central London. The size of the space being taken with flex operators has also increased by 44 percent since the pandemic as larger companies incorporate more flexible workspace in their real estate portfolios. (more…)

June 20, 2022

Birmingham BT HQ shows road ahead for its offices and the city

by Mike Hills • Cities, Features, Property, Workplace design

In January of 2020, shortly before that thing happened and before we knew much about the UK Government’s ‘levelling up’ programme, Birmingham was already a city on the rise. It had recently been announced that it was to host the Commonwealth Games in 2022 and was riding the crest of a number of high-profile developments and regeneration projects, not least those that arrived on the back of the controversial high speed rail station. (more…)

June 7, 2022

Offices remain key to hybrid working strategy, claims report

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Property

Hybrid work adoption is growing and becoming a permanent element of the future of work, according to the new Workforce Preferences Barometer report [registration] from real estate firm JLL. However, the report’s authors also conclude that, as employee expectations and reality reach an equilibrium, the continuing use of offices remains pivotal to work routines. (more…)

March 3, 2022

What really happens when we start using offices again?

by Henry Stainton • Comment, Flexible working, Property

Should I stay or should I go? – we have all faced that dilemma in recent weeks with our offices opened by hopeful employers versus the enticement of a warm kitchen, fresh coffee and swerving a long commute also on offer. It is a decision we are all having to make and, which seems loaded with potential, previously unimagined outcomes. (more…)

December 20, 2021

Startups fuelling growth in demand for flexible offices

by Neil Franklin • Cities, News, Property

According to data from The Instant Group 584,097 companies have been registered in the UK since the start of 2021 – this equates to 1,781 per day. The most companies registered in 2021 so far have been in London, Birmingham, and Manchester. The growth in start-ups has fuelled an increase in demand for flexible offices across the UK’s cities, with large proportional increases outside London. Requirements for coworking and serviced offices has grown significantly in cities such as Bristol (41 percent), Manchester (28 percent), and Reading (27 percent) over the past year. (more…)

November 1, 2021

The modern workplace is defined as much by digital space as the physical office

by Wilco Wijnbergen • Comment, Property, Technology

There are no prizes to be won for saying that the modern workplace is already markedly different from those we have known in recent decades. As remote and flexible working practices have become more common, the role of the office has already begun to evolve – the pace of change has been greatly accelerated by the pandemic, which has resulted in a rethink among many organisations about their real estate needs. (more…)

June 21, 2021

Design Social North will reinvigorate the creative workplace sector in the North of England

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Events, Workplace design

Design Social North is the new event bringing the design community and creative businesses back together in the North of England. The organisers have created DesignFestivalNorth, a 3-day showcase of leading design brands and companies, presented in a series of events taking place this July in showrooms across Manchester, and a dedicated ‘design hub’ located at Impossible in the City Centre. It takes place from Tuesday 13th-Thursday 15th July 2021. (more…)

April 6, 2021

UK civil service signs up to hybrid working deal

by Neil Franklin • News, Property, Public Sector

The UK civil service is set to pioneer a widespread hybrid working strategy with the announcement of a new deal with serviced office provider IWG. The details of the deal, reported first in The Telegraph newspaper (paywall), will include the creation of a nationwide network of ten coworking spaces for the use of civil servants when they are not in London. The report suggests that up to 430,000 employees could now have a better chance of adopting a hybrid working culture. (more…)

March 9, 2021

Working near home could save employees over £2,200 a year

by Jayne Smith • Flexible working, News, Working culture

Employees could save over £2,200 a year and ‘get back’ 98 mins a day if companies adopted a ‘Work Near Home’ model for offices in the future, claims research from workspace company, The Instant Group and site location company, Hickey. For companies that adopt this approach, they could save upwards of 23 percent by utilising a “Hub and Spoke” model that removes reliance on city centres for office locations. (more…)

March 8, 2021

The new dimensions of workplace wellbeing

by Beatriz Arantes • Features, Wellbeing, Workplace design

A healthy, engaged and productive work environment starts with conversations about people’s needs. So whether you have always been on a co-located team or are a veteran of remote work, there are new circumstances and the old rulebook doesn’t quite help. The change has been sudden, in a sustained moment of uncertainty, and has disrupted employee routines and support structures. (more…)

February 23, 2021

CBRE acquires 35 percent stake in flexible office provider Industrious

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Property

CBRE Group has announced the acquisition of a 35 percent interest in Industrious, a provider of flexible office space, which will also see CBRE’s existing flexible workplace firm Hana absorbed into Industrious. CBRE is now Industrious’ largest shareholder. In addition, CBRE is expected to acquire an additional 5 percent of Industrious in the coming weeks, which would result in a 40 percent total stake. The investment significantly increases CBRE’s participation in the flexible workplace sector and positions the company to meet rising demand from occupiers for agile space solutions — a trend that is being accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic. (more…)

January 13, 2021

Office design will respond to the events of the past year as it always has – by getting better

by Oliver Ronald • Comment, Workplace design

You may have heard that history repeats itself, but that’s not really true. It doesn’t repeat. It rhymes. And nowhere is this more true than when it comes to office design. It’s worth bearing this in mind when we consider the effects of the events of 2020. Not only the pandemic and lockdown, but also the longer term economic, social and individual consequences. The details of this may be unprecedented, as many people have suggested, but the dynamics of it are not. We have not been here before, but we’ve been somewhere very like it. (more…)