🗞 The Video Summary
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🎉 Coworking celebrations.
7️⃣ 7 Years of creating community #
Happy 7th Anniversary, Alkaloid! Coworking is the glue that keeps us together—thanks for supporting local workers and businesses for the last seven years!
👉 Read this.
🎂 GCF turns 7 too. #
Thank you, German Coworking Federation for enabling coworking communities across Germany (and surrounding areas) for 7 years.
👉 Read this.
🎂 Flexify turns 4! #
Matthew Stott celebrates 4 years of helping teams land in flex spaces.
👉 Read this.
🎉 The Gathering Spot turns 9 #
Ryan Wilson, Founder of the The Gathering Spot shared his remarks from a recent celebration in honor of their 9th anniversary.
👉 Read this.
🧁 Indy Commons turns 5! #
Massive congrats to this rural coworking community that offers office space, kitchen space, a market, and hosts events.
👉 Read this.
🃏 Alkaloid Networks turns 8! #
Alkaloid Networks, one of the oldest independent, female-owned coworking spaces in Atlanta turns 8 this week!
👉 Read this.
🎂 1000 Satellites turns 5! #
Congrats Markus Hummelsberger, Gregory von Abendroth, Caro Windlin and the whole team!
👉 Read this.
5️⃣ 42workspace also turns 5! #
Ohad Gilad shares a surprise they got from a partner to celebrate 5 years of supporting tech startups.
👉 Read this.
✊ Coworking impact.
💙 Global platform launches their #withinUkraine campaign #
From today on Upflex contributing directly to local Ukrainian operators will be as easy as booking a desk or meeting room as part of #withinUkraine, the global cross-platform campaign
All funds collected for bookings are sent directly to operators to support the work they’re doing to support local communities and refugees.
👉 Read this.
🇺🇦 Booking platform shares open letter from Ukrainian hosts #
NearU recently reached out to their Ukrainian host parters, Creative States and COSPO, to share their updates, donation pages, and an open letter to the coworking industry.
👉 Read this.
🇬🇧 Another coworking space becomes a B Corp #
Teresa Jackson shares that Collabor8te became a B Corp this week.
👉 Read this.
👵 Reflecting on 11 years of B-corp-iness #
Hub Australia share some reflections from their B Corp adventure since 2013, as they prepare for their fourth recertification.
👉 Read this.
🅱️ Cloudworks becomes a B-Corp too #
Verónica González Jöhnk shares that Cloudworks have joined the growing group of flex space brands that have become B Corp certified.
👉 Read this.
🐣 How a space (with childcare) changed a mum’s life #
Paulina Roe (a Chicago mom, an on-air contributor on "The Fred Show," and the founder of The Mami Collective, a media platform for ambitious mothers shared how a coworking space with on-site preschool changed her life and her parenting.
"I wish I had known about coworking spaces with attached childcare/preschools much sooner in my parenting journey. This community helped me solve a problem I had been stressing over for two years."
👉 Read this.
Coworking news & views.
🏴 Up to £5k available for Welsh venues to join coworking project #
A new project is launching in Denbighshire, Swansea and the Vale of Glamorgan to champion more flexible ways of working and give local venues a new lease of life.
Cowork Local aims to support local businesses by having people work within their own communities. Not only will this give people the benefits of working closer to home – getting up later, ditching the commute and saving money – but it will also give them a professional environment to work within, without the distractions and difficulties of living and working from the same space.
The organisers are now calling for venues to sign up and give their space a new lease of life by offering flexible working opportunities and business support to the community around them.
Venue owners who apply before June 2022 may be eligible for a grant of up to £5k to cover the cost of setting up, including marketing and photography, before they are ready to welcome coworkers and generate extra income.
👉 Read this.
📜 From a tactic to a strategy. #
Anthony Slumbers returns with a follow-up of his 2019 Propmodo article called "#SpaceAsAService: The Trillion Dollar Hashtag" with this fascinating long-read.
They explore the effects of improvements in AI, the shift from workers to creators, automation, and if their 8 critical factors for space as a service still stand true.
👉 Read this.
🏢 UK public retailer shifts HQ to hybrid mix #
Dan Rubel shares how (and why) UK public tech retailer Currys plc have made a move from traditional office space for their HQ, and into flex workspaces provided by WeWork.
The deal gives their 1,400 staff members access to 40 locations, and secured permanent space for 400 near Waterloo station, alongside converting unused space in stores into office space.
👉 Read this.
🇺🇸 US gov. awards record-breaking workspace marketplace pilots #
According to HigherGov, the General Services Administration (GSA) posted an RFP on March 4th to "implement an enterprise-wide, scalable marketplace solution to optimize its real estate portfolio and streamline the management of federal office space". This week we heard that this contract has been awarded as two 12-month pilots.
As of curation, we have confirmed that two booking platforms are involved. LiquidSpace will be working with Trebellar on their solution in San Francisco. Upflex is leaning on their existing integration partnership with Gospace AI in conjunction with DHC Real Estate Services, a certified veteran-owned small business, for a pilot in Chicago.
This is a developing story, and in many ways would break government contracting records for speed – going from RFP to two pilots in weeks. It does follow/build on previous GSA contracts or flex-forward moves we’ve covered including the flex workspace contract vehicle and the FedCowork pilot. Stay tuned to This Week in Coworking as we continue to cover this story.
👉 Read this.
✅ Coworking comes with a health and wellness amenity built in #
In this snippet from a recent Preferred Office Network webinar, Bryce Hill from Office Evolution reminds us that "we all offer a health and wellness amenity, which is community" and how that helps fight the loneliness epidemic.
Yes Bryce. Yes!
👉 Read this.
💷 Did Currys just save over £9M by shifting to coworking? #
Dave Cairns originally posted some maths around how much Currys saved by shifting to a 400-pax membership at WeWork from a traditional lease. He was challenged that should have compared a 400-pax lease with the 400-pax membership (instead of the original 1,400 office against the membership), so he did.
Even with an estimated annual payment to the coworking operator of £3.47M ($4.86M) the total savings compared to a traditional office for the same 400 seats would be over £9.4M ($12.35) through the shift.
👉 Read this.
🔥 Please, please, pleeeease check your ‘cowork’ ad spend #
Igor Dzhebyan reminds you not to burn $2k+ a week on search ads for the term "cowork".
ICYMI: Claude Cowork, a desktop AI assistant suite, launched in January, causing a spike in search volume for the term. So if you’re search ads, and not checking your negative keywords, you could be burning money every single day.
👉 Read this.
🔨 OG operator busts 6 flex space myths for asset managers #
Christophe Fahle shares the 6 things 10 asset managers got wrong about flex space and coworking. This insightful piece followed conversations about improving occupancy in badly performing office buildings by leveraging flex spaces.
In short, flex space is not just about hot desking; it isn’t one-size-fits-all; it isn’t a quick fix; it’s affordable; it actually improves cash flow; and has a measurable environmental impact.
Are these objections you’ve heard from asset managers before? Any Christophe missed?
👉 Read this.
🤔 Is your website worthless when it comes to revenue? #
Andrei Toistev, CTO at EU-based RunDesk, opines that for most coworking spaces your website generates almost zero revenue "and you know it". He makes the case that Google Maps is the biggest driver of revenue for their space.
I dove right into the comments on the thread, as I’m a firm believer that brands (and lists) are best built on something you can own (like your own website), and then amplified through listings, partnerships, tools and systems.
My question for you tough is this… does your website really generate NO revenue for your coworking business?! Let me know in a reply.
👉 Read this.
🪑 The rise of the desk-less office #
Daniel Davis shares how interior design firm Hassell prepared an (almost) desk-less office for one of their clients. Its interesting to see how a 26k sqft space was separated into 3 core zones termed "arrival and meet", "workspace" and "tech". The middle layer was designed like a "private coworking space", and although there’s places and booths to get work done in, only the tech team get dedicated space and the 24 full time desks within the entire office.
With design changes like this, you can see how and why giving employees access to 3rd party coworking spaces away from the HQ is getting easier and easier.
👉 Read this.
🤓 Coworking is contagious #
When people join a bustling space where members know, like, connect with, and support each other, that vibe ripples through your space and members and into your extended community.
Cat Johnson explores what else (in your spaces) are contagious, and how they can cause "infinite loops" of good, and bad, energy.
👉 Read this.
🎶 The great debates at… every space. #
Luke Fellone, director of coworking at Working From_ opines about how one of the hidden intricacies of running a shared space, is balancing how different members want different things from their workspace, environment and community.
Case in point? Music. Some love a bit of bg music. Others want complete silence. And then from there, if there is music… what music? When? Who controls it? How? (Oh and in some countries, what about licensing?)
Just another one of those things that coworking leaders have to strike a balance with, you absolute legends you!
👉 Read this.
🇱🇺 Why Luxembourg’s coworking sector is being held back #
Patricia Casal Marques shares that even though "coworking spaces play a vital role in the development of the economy", local industry leaders still face struggles around flexibility and support.
In the piece the Luxembourg Workspace Association shares that after some preliminary research, there are just 56 spaces across the country. What’s holding back growth, according to Gosia Kramer, founder of The Office coworking spaces is 3-fold: small market size, conservative approach of real estate sector and the huge bureaucracy required to set up a business.
It’s also noted that government’s unwillingness to cooperate with the sector is also an area of frustration. Claudine Bettendroffer, Country Leader of the Silversquare coworking space notes that under the current law, managers of coworking spaces need an ‘establishment license’.
👉 Read this.
🇦🇺 Why opening in Sydney is market signal for this firm #
Tobi Skovron shares some thoughts around Cubes.co‘s recent launch in Sydney (under the CorporateCubes.co brand), and why it’s signals more than just a flag planted in another major city.
This plugs into the trend we’re following where top brands are focussing on selling outcomes – not just access to spaces, desks or wifi.
👉 Read this.
👏 Operator announces opening day at 82% capacity #
Work.Life‘s St Cross Street location achieved an impressive 82% occupancy rate in just the first half of its opening day, marking a significant milestone for the company’s largest space to date.
Sales Manager James Pain, emphasizes that this achievement represents a comprehensive team effort spanning multiple departments and locations. Contributors to this success include the creative and brand teams, colleagues who conducted tours, managers with strong member relationships who facilitated larger moves, the welcoming membership team, and the design team responsible for creating the appealing space, demonstrating how collaborative effort drives sales success in the flexible workspace industry.
👉 Read this.
🤸 A reminder for leaders of culture cultivators #
Jonny Rosenblatt reminds us how important it is to bring our whole team together, especially when operating across multiple sites, for a day or so is critical for fostering a culture and community for the people who are tasked with fostering culture and community.
👉 Read this.
🤯 A quick pro-tip to improve your coworking marketing #
Cat Johnson shares another great marketing tip on how to improve your coworking space’s marketing.
_Spolier alert: it’s to spend more time talking to your community. _
👉 Read this.
📚 Why the best coworking in town is free #
Mike Rome, an experienced marketing leader, shared in a LinkedIn Post why he believes that the best coworking space in town is free…and is at your local public library.
We’ve seen libraries competing more head-on with coworking spaces as they’re often close to home, have open (and quiet) workspaces, and increasingly offer areas to collaborate in.
Trend tracker: Libraries vs Coworking.
👉 Read this.
🎯 Is LinkedIn the best social channel for your space? #
Elisa Witt wonders if LinkedIn is the right social media channel for promoting their coworking cafe tisch to potential business customers or partners.
We haven’t asked in a while, but which social media channel are you seeing the best engagement with prospective leads? Reply to the email version and let us know.
👉 Read this.
🇩🇪 Summary of the 3-day COWORK2023 conference #
Kristina Schneider shared a quick summary of the COWORK2023 conference by the German Coworking Federation. In short: more participants than ever, more participation from coworking tech companies and saw initial results from coworking survey showing more economic sustainability.
👉 Read this.
🔍 The simple framework for a consistent social media presence #
A great social media presence does not come from more ideas. It comes from structure. Petra Bijvoet once again joins Cobot to share a content framework for anyone running a coworking space who wants a social media strategy that actually holds up week to week.
From choosing the right content formats to making every post count use one simple mantra: teach, relate, or prove.
👉 Read this.
🌎 Is neighbourhood more important than global? #
Bernie Mitchell shares five ways your coworking space can build civic infrastructure in your neighbourhood, from a conversation to a continent-wide movement on European Coworking Day.
👉 Read this.
🇪🇺 The why, when, how and where of European Coworking Day #
A post exploring the significance of European Coworking Day (10 May), the benefits of getting involved, how to make the most of this exciting new holiday, and why a new date (alongside International Coworking Day on 9 August) is neccessary to celebrate coworking in Europe.
👉 Read this.
👸 How we built a thriving IRL community of women entrepreneurs #
Elevate Coworking is a coworking space all about supporting women entrepreneurs in their mission to have it all. Optix share five key takeaways from their conversation with Maggie Blackham on what it takes to build a thriving community of women. They were: defining ICPs, embracing pivots, extra added value, tech automation, and what really guides their space.
👉 Read this.
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💻 Coworking technology.
😲 Syncing platform builds new WMS integration in 11 days. #
Syncaroo announced a new integration with the workspace management system (WMS) andcards this week. What’s impressive (and I believe game-changing) about this announcement is that the entire integration process went from a discussion, through planning, into development, and being implemented into the Private Beta in just 11 days.
This adds a 5th integrated WMS into the ecosystem alongside Cobot, Nexudus, officernd, and Satellite Deskworks. But with the speed of this deployment, we could see a rapid increase in the number of management systems live-syncing inventory and bookings with aggregators, brokers, and website widgets.
👉 Read this.
🤖 Popular AI chatbot gets booking capabilities #
Florian Huber shares a quick example of how the addition of plugins into ChatGPT can take their millions of users from planning, to booking, reserving and more.
Curious how AI (and plugins like these) may impact your flex space business revenues? If you’ve been following TWIC or joined any of our recap discussions, you’ll know I’ve done a deep dive and working on a report just for you. Watch your inboxes.
👉 Read this.
🖱️ Workspace tool gets new features to cut down tab-toggling #
Syncaroo shared that their Assistant browser extension now includes on-screen "helpers" for LiquidSpace, Hubble, Deskpass, Tally Workspace and Instant Offices with development and testing already underway, and alongside multi-location space teams, for OfficeHub, Office Freedom, Workthere, NearU and Rubberdesk (UK).
These "helpers" browser extension (for Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge) expands their live-date sidebar functionality with on-page overlays that make checking and updating important information like prices, descriptions and opening hours faster, without needing to check any other tabs, sheets or dashboards.
👉 Read this.
🔎 Workspace platform launches tool for brokers #
Office Hub announced a new product called Property Hub, aimed at empowering brokers with a powerful CRM that also is plugged into live inventory listings.
The main value prop they’re promoting? Direct inventory integration that allows for faster turnaround from initial request, to proposal, to signed contract. This area is heating up as more and more tools like Valve and managed. that focus on making flex deals faster (read: more profitable) for brokers.
👉 Read this.
🦾 How this operator fully automates month-to-date reporting #
Justin Moran from Workspace shares how he uses Claude to automate a workflow that logs into Optix 3 mornings a week to email himself a tally of month-to-dare bookings and day pass revenue.
Apps are becoming APIs, and tasks that lived in your head (or in a todo list) are increasingly being automated. "The time saved isn’t the really the point, it’s the mental load."
👉 Read this.
🤖 On AI for ops and member experience… #
Carlos Almansa, co-founder of Nexudus explores how to get the most from AI within a coworking space business, sharing 5 areas operators can deploy AI-powered assistance and insights.
"It’s not about presenting a nice dashboard any more". Yeap!
👉 Read this.
🧹 CRE firm introduces cleaning offering. #
Jamie Lawson shares that JLL has just introduced a new product called Dynamic Cleaning.
Using sensors, they can coordinate janitorial services optimizing up to 15% in operational costs. Reminds me of the startup I shared back in w42/21 that was building office cleaning robots as part of their workspace operating system.
👉 Read this.
🛝 Another booking platform shifts into workspace management tech #
Sarah Sneddon shares that Perch have released their own workspace management software to help coworking spaces manage tenants, finances bookings and more.
👉 Read this.
💷 Fractional office co hits £2M milestone #
Jon Dweck shares the fractional office marketplace Space32 have hit the milestone of £2M in rental revenue for their office hosts.
Trend watch: Fractional offices are a fast-growing flex space product we’re following closely here on TWIC.
👉 Read this.
🎨 andcards becomes Spacebring #
The increasingly popular mobile-first workspace management software previously known as andcards has rebranded to Spacebring. The team also shared notes on their renewed vision, values and brand identity.
👉 Read this.
🇬🇧 UK platform adds instant booking integration. #
Tally Market has announced a direct integration with OfficeRnD enabling teams to book workspaces in seconds.
The integration allows customers of the app to book a vast range of meeting rooms and private offices in seconds. The integration automatically checks the availability of venues using the management system. If available – they can be booked in seconds.
Going to say it again, live-availability integrations are going to be a huge topic this year.
👉 Read this.
📲 Management software co pivots to booking pass #
Version 2 of DropDesk Pass is launching today on Product Hunt. CEO Graham Beck shares that although their co "started as a coworking management software, but we soon realized after Covid-19 that there was so much more potential" and that they were "onboarding over 5,000 locations".
👉 Read this.
Coworking data.
🇺🇸 5,612 coworking spaces in the US, spanning 113M sqft. #
Researchers at CoworkingCafe leveraged proprietary data from Yardi in March to break down the coworking space stock availability in the 25 largest markets, as well as their size and distribution.
Main takeaways: 5,612 coworking locations across the US. 5 markets have over 200 spaces – Manhattan (290), LA (265), Washington DC (243), Chicago (235) and Dallas-Forth Worth (225). Total allocated square footage adds up to 113M sqft (1.67% of total square footage of office space in the US). National median prices are $134 (hotdesks), $326 (dedicated desks) and $94 (virtual offices).
👉 Read this.
💰 Is e-commerce the next big revenue unlock? #
The latest edition of Undercurrents digs into e-commerce for coworking. Explore the opportunity, challenges, lessons learned and more from seasoned experts who’ve done the "hard part" (sometimes many times).
Learn from Josh Dane (Runway East), Anne Olsen (The Shop Workspace), Chiko Abengowe (Perfect Office Solutions), Lyndon Cookson (AccelerateX), Ben Rigby (x+why), Kane Willmott (iQ Offices), Radoslav Enchev (OfficeRnD) and Eyal Lasker (Flexspace AI).
Miro Miroslavov (OfficeRnD) provides the foreword and last word, and your host for this edition is Hector Kolonas (who wears many hats).
Note: This Undercurrents edition was released in four different formats simultaneously, so you can enjoy the deep-dive report regardless of whether you prefer to watch, listen, read online or download for later – or swap between them as you go. Next up? AI Agents!
👉 Read this.
📆 Most hybrid workers give Mondays & Fridays a miss #
Back in w45/21 NearU shared that 40% of desk bookings were for Thursdays. Their newest dataset highlights that hybrid workers still prefer the "TWT" week structure and working from home on Mondays and Fridays.
👉 Read this.
🇮🇱 State of flex in Israel #
Eran Avital shares The Instant Group‘s flex market review for Israel.
Key takeaway is that demand for flex surged 51% in 2021, alongside a 136% increase in equity investment in Israeli tech co’s.
Note: Unfortunately the report is behind an email gate.
👉 Read this.
😳 81% of US office workers are frustrated with their current office experiences #
Kurt Patrick shares essensys’ latest results from a survey of 1000 US office workers about their office experiences, and how landlords (and flex space providers) need to offer more than amenities to keep workers happily coming in ‘to the office’.
Key takeaways: Only 1 in 5 admit that amenities are what brings them to the office, where 63% claim tech and flex workspaces are why they do come in. Interestingly they share that 52% of workers are envious of the tech available in other office buildings aside their own.
👉 Read this.
📉 SF and Manhattan see over 10% drop in office rents #
Matt Phillips shares some data looking at the change in office rents on signed leases between 2019 and 2022. SF (-30.8%), Manhattan (-13.6%) and Philadelphia (-6.5%) are the hardest hit with regions like Charlotte (+5.7%), Releigh (+5.6%) and Boston (+4.6%) seeing growing rents.
Time will show how this will affect landlords, REITs, CRE capital markets, local banks and the large coworking markets in these regions
👉 Read this.
🔽 Millions of Americans stopped working remotely in 2022 #
The Hill shares data from a Labor Department report in which they note that 72% of private-sector businesses reported ‘little to no telework’ among their workers in Aug-Sep ’22, compared to ~60% in Jul-Sep ’21. However the percentage of employers who reported that all their employees ‘were teleworking’ did jump 1% in 2022 from 2021, to 11%.
As for the hybrid crowd? 16% reported they had some employees were working ‘from home’, compared to 30% in 2021.
👉 Read this.
🇬🇧 In the UK, larger spaces are seeing higher occupancy #
Bobby Sodeiri shares that according to The Instant Group‘s recent findings, current occupancy rates throughout the UK are 80% (up from 79% last year).
But what’s interesting is that occupancy rates at spaces over 30k sqft in size are significantly higher than those in spaces under 10k sqft. Nationwide the difference is 89% for over 30k vs 79% for under 10k, whilst in London the numbers are 86% vs 78% for over 30k and under 10k respectively.
In other splurge of percentages, they note that that "58% of landlords expect at least 26% of their portfolio to be flex by 2030".
👉 Read this.
🇮🇳 Local flex space TAM in India set to grow to $9B by 2028 #
Private equity advisory firm Avendus share that India’s flex workspace market is projected to reach 126M sqft by 2028, up from 61M sqft in 2023.
The 83 page report also digs into the fat that in 2023 the split between premium and economy flex space was 50/50 of the collective 7% market share. By 2028 they predict that the approx 12% of market share will be 60% premium and 40% economy solutions. According to their research, local operators’ total addressable market (TAM) was $3.5B in 2023, which with a CAGR of apprx. 21% should hit $9B in 2028.
👉 Read this.
🇺🇸 America’s CBDs and coworking #
CoworkingCafe researchers revisited last year’s analysis on the US central business districts (CBDs) with the most coworking spaces.
Despite top CBDs seeing contractions in supply, the podium remained unchanged with NYC in the lead with 161 spaces, albeit with 17 less spaces across Midtown and FiDi since 2023. Chicago came in second with 55 spaces in and around the loop (representing more than half of the city’s spaces), and Washington DC came in third with 54.
Half of all U.S. downtown coworking spaces (370 of the roughly 720 centrally located flex spaces) were concentrated in eight major CBDs this year, while in 2023 half of the national CBD inventory was concentrated in just five business districts.
The local supply-demand balance drew some interesting patterns on the maps of Las Vegas, NV, San Antonio, TX and Atlanta, GA – who all stood out for their low concentration of coworking spaces within their CBDs – less than 9% of their total coworking inventories.
👉 Read this.
🇪🇸 Is this Spain’s new flexible workspace capital? #
Valencia is consolidating its position as a key hub for coworking and flexible office spaces in Spain, achieving 12% annual growth as the city responds to changing work models and expands its entrepreneurial ecosystem. Local operators like Wayco, which manages 6,400 sqm serving over 400 users, and new projects such as The Terminal Hub in the former maritime terminal are driving this expansion.
The Valencian startup ecosystem grew by more than 15% in 2024, reaching 1,517 firms that generate over 20,000 jobs, while events like the Valencia Digital Summit have enhanced the city’s international profile for entrepreneurs.
👉 Read this.
🕵️♀️ Just how interconnected are industry brands and leaders? #
Hector Kolonas shares a sneak peak at a new TWIC Explore view, showing just how Coworking Brands and Coworking Leaders are interconnected through links summarized and shared via these newsletters.
What comes next? Who (both brands and people) are leading which trends, shifts and markets. Want early access? Hit reply.
👉 Read this.
Coworking market moves.
🇩🇪 An operator, a VC and a landlord walk into a house. #
Ansgar Oberholz shares that VC PropTech1, landlord GSG Berlin, and coworking operator St. Oberholz are collaborating on a new 1,500 sqm workspace and community built across five floors as a meeting point for start-ups, associations, and investors who focus on real estate innovation.
👉 Read this.
🇺🇸 Convene taps in $230M in strategic growth capital #
Ryan Simonetti shares that Convene Hospitality Group (who own Convene, NeueHouse, etc.venues and special event venues) have secured $230 million in strategic financing to help accelerate their vision as a global, multi-brand hospitality organization.
👉 Read this.
🇮🇳 Indian operator aims to double size over next 18 months #
315Work Avenue shared an update that due to high demand, they’re looking to double their footprint over the next 18 months. The firm currently manages 2M sqft across 40 location in Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai, and Pune.
👉 Read this.
🇦🇺 TSL expands interstate to Queensland #
Bradley Delamare shares that Tank Stream Labs are expanding with a new location (opening in Q3, 2026) in Brisbane CBD.
👉 Read this.
💰 Blackstone exploring $1.9B sale of coworking group #
In what seems to be exclusively email-gated content Seeking Alpha, Bloomberg and The Telegraph report that the PE firm is having ‘informal talks’ to sell The Office Group for $1.9B.
ICYMI: Blackstone acquired a majority stake at a valuation of $640M in 2017. Merged with Fora at a $1.9B valuation in 2022. Now run 70 locations.
👉 Read this.
💰 Indian coworking firm raises $4M #
iSprout have raised a pre-Series A round of $4M, with a major part of that going to building proprietary tech and automating critical processes. They are also planning a $10M round to expand their footprint across the country says Sreeni Tirdhala their CMO.
I do hope Sundari Patibandla’s tech team have checked out Syncaroo for those automation tasks.
👉 Read this.
🇲🇾 Malaysian operator launches 8th location with 100% occupancy #
WORQ officially launched its eighth coworking location at Sunway Putra Mall in Kuala Lumpur on Monday. The 20k sqft location has achieved 100% occupancy since its soft opening in January this year.
Co-founder and CEO Stephanie Ping noted that their strategy is to build locations on train lines, aiming to be within 10 minutes of where people live – sharing that many of their members have switched from driving to taking trains to work.
👉 Read this.
💰 New CoLiving Startup Fundraising #
Here’s an interesting investment play- a "new" version of co-living planning to open in Asheville called Aashna. It’s eco/wellness focused, offering both housing & workspace in urban environments, and is raising funds through an equity-based crowdfunding round.
Depending on the success of this raise, could we see a resurgence in equity/other crowdfunding rounds for community-focussed coworking spaces or expansions? They’re currently sitting at 226% of their minimum goal ($56,727 of $25k), but have set a max raise amount of $1.07M.
👉 Read this.
🇹🇷 Turkish gov. ministry turns airport into tech hub project #
Turkey’s "Industry and Technology Ministry has spearheaded the Terminal Istanbul project, aiming to transform the area of Atatürk Airport, which was decommissioned approximately five years ago, into a hub of technology and entrepreneurship through the establishment of centers within its terminal buildings."
Part of the project is establishing Turkey’s largest ‘technopark’ which will include office spaces, incubators, accelerators, coworking spaces and labs. I don’t see who was tapped to run these spaces, but will be watching closely.
👉 Read this.
🇩🇪 Operator bids farewell to their pilot location #
John Neilan shares that Tuesday Coworking are closing the first location they launched as a pilot bootstrapped space in 2016. The brand will continue to operate their 3 other locations in Berlin, and are hosting a farewell party on April 19th to celebrate the impact that first space had on the business and it’s community.
👉 Read this.
🗽 How, and why, flex is being adopted by NYC landlords #
Aaron Short shares that New York’s Class B and C office owners are also leaning towards flex space. The piece mentions that due to market volatility these landlords have accepted deals on terms as short as six months.
The article shares some interesting insights, including that even landlords who are concerned following the changes at Knotel and Breather are exploring and adding flex options to their properties. Also interesting is that that the average price of a private office in NYC is $961, campared to $803 in London and $800 in Berlin.
👉 Read this.
🇦🇺 WOTSO announces multiple locations to spur expansion #
WOTSO has already announced three new sites in 2025, including the takeover of a former WeWork space in North Sydney, a 600sqm location in Kogarah in southern Sydney, and a site in Whangārei, New Zealand purchased for $NZ3.7 million.
The North Sydney location will follow WOTSO’s successful strategy of placing coworking space on the ground floor with street-facing windows, while the Kogarah site was chosen for its strong transport links and population growth. With these additions, WOTSO will operate 33 flexspaces across Australia and New Zealand, with six new sites opening in the next three months including additional locations in Melbourne, Jamisontown, and Te Tōangaroa.
👉 Read this.
💎 Operator launches a new suburban luxury coworking brand #
25N Coworking, a well known and respected coworking operator based in the Chicago, IL suburbs has announced a new luxury coworking brand, The Amara Club.
Located on the top floor of a Shaumburg, IL office building, the space offers Chicago skyline views, a bar, a dedicated concierge, premium refreshments, parking, guest passes and more. There’s also a trend of more brands having multiple brands as coworking touches more markets with different workplace needs and budgets.
👉 Read this.
🇺🇸 Work-focussed members club expands into Nashville #
Charlie Robinson shares that The Malin is expanding into Nashville, as their first step in expanding across more cities outside NYC. The expansion is in partnership with AJ Capital Partners and will feature a 16k sqft offering including 7 private offices, 48 dedicated desks, 5 meeting rooms, 2 libraries, a kitchen and private terrace.
👉 Read this.
🇬🇧 Asset management firm backs UK operator #
Birmingham-based Frontier Development Capital (FDC) has sealed a multi-million-pound funding deal to back workspace provider Gilbanks’ expansion plans across the UK.
Gilbanks, headquartered in Leeds with operations in Manchester, is already establishing a 22k sqft workspace at Five St Philips in Birmingham and specializes in sustainable, service-led office spaces. The investment comes as businesses increasingly seek experience-driven workspaces, with Gilbanks’ managing director Alex Duckett noting that the funding will enable the company to expand into suitable sites with forward-thinking landlords and top-tier amenities.
👉 Read this.
🫤 Merged entity gets ‘new’ name and puts major stake up for sale #
Sky News shares a twofer of a story about the whole IWG+Instant merger-y thing we’ve been tracking for a while.
- The combined entity is rebrand(ed/ing) to Worka. Why’s this odd? It’s not been announced anywhere, and Worka was the name of IWG’s own ‘booking app’.
- IWG have opened a data room for potential buyers of a 50% share of the combined digital ops entity.
👉 Read this.
🇺🇸 Prince George’s County gets their first coworking space #
Venture X, in partnership with the Prince George’s County Economic Development Corporation (PGCEDC) and the Prince George’s Chamber of Commerce, will host the grand opening and ribbon cutting of Venture X College Park, the county’s first coworking space, on Friday, March 27, 2026.’
The location in Discovery District Maryland is owned by Moniesha Jackson Shorter and features 60 private offices ranging in capacity from 1 to 5 people, shared coworking space, two conference rooms, a training room, and a café-style lounge that doubles as an event space.
👉 Read this.
🇪🇸 New coworking space in Barcelona with Cathedral views #
Aticco have announced a new 6k sqm coworking location, which is set to open in October. According to the piece, Barcelona is the top Spanish coworking market with 315 spaces (in 2023), followed by Madrid with 225.
👉 Read this.
🇨🇦 Multi-family developer expands home-grown coworking brand #
Stirling Bell shares that Alabaster Homes have expanded their Pavilion Cowork concept to downtown Calgary.
👉 Read this.
😳 Coworking franchise adds 250k sqft to network #
John Arenas shares that Serendipity Labs have added 250,000 sqft of flex space to their network over the last 12 moths.
For the record: the link within the post does seem like a sponsored piece, that’s also behind an email-gate. Either way, the growth of franchised coworking options is worth keeping an eye on.
👉 Read this.
😱 COhatch embarks on that massive 2.5 acre project #
Matthew Davis shares more info on COhatch‘s next big project, and how they’ll be creating a one-of-a-kind coworking and business innovation district called Riverview Village (in Dublin, Ohio).
ICYMI: We discussed this project with Ryan Fogelman back in November 2024, and they’ll finally be breaking ground on April 16th!
👉 Read this.
🇬🇧 Operator tapped to run 27k sqft of flex space in Birmingham #
Spacemade share that they’ve been appointed by CBRE Investment Management to deliver and manage the flex space in one of the city’s largest property developments at 10 Brindley Place.
It will include private studios and coworking space for more than 500 people, meeting room and podcast facilities, a coffee shop and roastery, and a 2,000 sq ft auditorium and event space.
👉 Read this.
🇺🇸 TailoredSpace opens new space in City of Orange #
TailoredSpace 16th location will be in the City of Orange. The new 11,830-square-foot space is just one block from the Orange Circle in the Old Towne Orange Historic District.
“This marks our first campus opening for 2026. Orange is another perfect fit as our suburban focus continues to hit the mark. We find that the reduced commute is a huge driver for local workers,” – Drew Sanden.
👉 Read this.
🎙 Coworking conversations.
Mark Gilbreath from Liquidspace joins Hector Kolonas for a quick, but hopefully helpful, dive behind the news to explore how this acronym-filled GSA EWM "thing" impacts coworking spaces… if at all.
Adam Neumann joined the Tetragrammaton with Rick Rubin about his journey into coworking – and the impact his wife Rebekah Neumann had on the shift from kids clothing to real estate.
Jamie Russo discusses the power of niche coworking spaces.
iQ Offices Co-Founder and CEO Kane Willmott joins 2 Marketers and a Coworking Podcast to discuss the strategies and decisions behind iQ’s growth from one to 8 locations, including how he pivoted the business model based on data his team analyzed with AI, the impact of brokers on his business, and more.
Jamie Orr shares how they (finally) managed to expand their CoWork Tahoe coworking concept with Jamie Russo on the Everything Coworking podcast.
Sneh Kadakia shares how from HERE rose from the literal ashes of her first workspace after a fire that took out 16 businesses and displaced 20 residents with Liz Elam on the GCUC podcast.
Mark Dixon from IWG shares about their continued rapid growth, their "network coverage strategy" and how the whole narrative about "going back to the office" is wrong, as people are going increasingly to offices that are more convenient to them and reducing as much of the commute as possible.
Tim Rowe, the founder and CEO of Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC) joins Frank Cottle on the Future of Work podcast to dive into how intentional industry focus and community-building can rejuvenate struggling cities and lead them towards a prosperous future.
Michael Kovacs joined Caleb Parker on the #WorkBold Podcast to discuss the transformation in office space investments towards flexible workspace solutions, Castleforge’s own flex space brand and their recent white paper.
Jamie Russo digs into what lessons coworking spaces can learn from hotel hospitality hacks, and how they can be applied to make business more responsive, personable and successful on this episode of the Everything Coworking podcast.
David Arraya joins Gio and Jamie to discuss the hospitality paradigm, customer experience levels and the challenges in the coworking industry’s service sector on the Flex Uncensored podcast.
Bernie Mitchell interviews Claudius Krucker, the quietly relentless force behind Coworking Switzerland and European Coworking Day about how what started over coffee in a pizzeria became a country-wide alliance—and now, a growing movement in 25 countries.
In this data-heavy episode of the b podcast, Jamie Russo sits down with Peter Kolaczynski, Associate Director of CommercialEdge (part of Yardi), to unpack what’s really happening beneath the surface of the coworking and office markets.
📆 Coworking events.
💂♀️ London Coworking Assembly April Breakfast #
Apr 12: The April London Coworking Assembly Breakfast, will host a discussion about designing a more inclusive and equitable coworking future.
👉 Read this.
Discuss this newsletter #
31 March: Discuss this newsletter, with other readers and industry leaders.
👉 Read this.
💬 Convo: Attracting perfect-fit members to your space #
March 29: How do you attract perfect-fit office members to your coworking space? Let’s chat about it! Join us for a free, informal, community conversation with fellow workspace operators and coworking pros around the world.
👉 Read this.
👋 Belonging happens here #
April 2: Learn about the Belongfulness project and how your space can get involved with fighting the loneliness epidemic.
👉 Read this.
📨 Freedom from Sq Ft meetup: The Wedge’s setup #
For PilotoMail‘s 4th Freedom from Sq Ft meetup, Sofia Stolberg will host Stephanie Schrage from The Wedge, to explore their VO model – and an honest review of how it’s structured, positioned and managed today.
What to expect:
📨 Live audit of a real Virtual Office offering
📨 Practical insights on structure, positioning, and scalability
📨 Actionable takeaways for your own space
📨 Open Q&A with operators from around the world
👉 Read this.
🇪🇸 Coworking Spain 2022: The Challenges of Coworking and Co-living #
Apr 26-27: 70% of this high-quality and curated content will be presented in English, and there will also be an in-person keynote from Igor from the Ukraine Coworking Association.
👉 Read this.
Coworking Convo: Hospitality as a Service #
31 March: Service normally refers to an intangible product that is offered to members. Hospitality is an interaction and refers to the way you treat your members. How can hospitality and service be bridged to better serve our communities?
Let’s chat about it.
👉 Read this.
🇺🇸 GCUC in SLC #
April 9-11: GCUC is hosted in Salt Lake City this year, use code TWIC to get 20% off your passes before March 31st.
👉 Read this.
📬 CMRA Compliance Update: What’s next? #
As the USPS moves forward with its transition from the manual Quarterly Review process to the digital CRD (Customer Registration Data) system, many CMRAs (Commercial Mail Receiving Agencies) still face challenges in meeting compliance requirements. Although significant progress has been made with over a million PMBs (Private Mailboxes) entered into the CRD system, several CMRAs have yet to activate their Access Codes or begin entering their data.
This webinar is designed to provide CMRAs with crucial updates on the current program status, including next steps to achieve full compliance with the digital Quarterly Review process. With expert insights from USPS and USPIS leadership, as well as industry stakeholders, attendees will gain a clear understanding of the steps needed to complete the process and close existing gaps. This session will also highlight the importance of collaboration between USPS, USPIS, and CoMRAA to ensure industry-wide success.
Special Speakers:
*Carl Swanson – Postal Inspector, USPIS
*William Edmundson – CoMRAA Board Chairman, MTAC Representative, SVP iPostal1 Workspace
Join us to learn about the latest updates, the critical next steps in the process, and how USPS and industry partners are working together to drive compliance and efficiency across the CMRA community.
👉 Read this.