Today’s newsletter is a big one for me. It’s the 100th summary I’ve published online.
The first web summary I published (originally over at included.co) was for week 29/2020. However, week 30/2020 was the first email version that I sent out, to a whopping 6 of you amazing flex workspace leaders. So two milestones in 1 go.
So if you’ll allow me, a massive THANK YOU for being a part of the ThisWeekInCoworking community.
Thanks for being a huge part of the 580+ decision-makers who read my summaries (almost) every week, for inviting your friends and frenemies to join in and subscribe, for sponsoring weeks when you can, and for submitting links/news/events and most importantly for all you do in helping shape the future of work.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
This week is sponsored by… Syncaroo.
Do you help flex space operators and landlords pick, setup or manage their technology? Or maybe you help with SEO, marketing or strategy? We want to meet you.
At Syncaroo we build reliable and secure data-syncing integrations. But when landlords and flex space operators ask for help with everything else, we want to know who to direct them to.
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🎉 Coworking celebrations.
🇦🇺 Local operator awarded $5.9 million grant #
Sandy Anghie shares that the Spacecubed team was awarded a Lotterywest grant of $5.9 million to expand their networking and collaboration activities, increase funding programs for startups and undertake detailed research on WA’s innovation sector.
👉 Read this.
✊ Coworking impact.
📜 Questionnaire digs into support for IT freelancers who cowork. #
The Ukrainian Coworking Association in partnership Kyiv IT Cluster and due to support of Cost Action CA18214 have launched the research on IT freelancers, who work all over Europe in different coworking spaces.
They’re looking for people to take a fairly long questionnaire to help the better understand how coworking spaces and managers are treating temporary displaced Ukrainians, whether they help to be better integrated into local society etc.
👉 Read this.
🇬🇧 What’s happening in London coworking, and how it impacts local creators. #
Over the last few years (decades) Bernie J Mitchell has become one of London’s most connected coworking people.
In this video, he shares a little bit of how he got started, how coworking spaces are bringing in creators and an event that digs into how coworking is helping regenerate communities and town centers.
👉 Read this.
🗣 With conference season firming up, who aren’t you hearing? #
Jerome Chang reminds us that with the conference line-ups firming up, are you seeing and hearing from diverse leaders & practitioners from across the coworking world?
If not, why not?
👉 Read this.
🇬🇧 Operator partners with learning center org to support young people #
Paul Nellist shared Koba‘s partnership with IntoUniversity to run a programme that will see the coworking space’s members supporting a cohort of young people "through a wide range of activities including mentoring, internships and open days", and includes free-access to the space, and a financial contribution from the sustainability-first flex space firm to the local charity.
👉 Read this.
📚 How one operator is supporting local foster families #
Ann Long from Burbity shares how their space, and wider community, are helping local organization Spokane Angles in supporting Spokane area’s foster families. The campaign is elegantly simple, a QR code that takes social media followers and community members to a registry to order school supplies, and have them delivered directly to the organizations offices. Love seeing community-focussed spaces supporting their wider community.
Nicely done Ann! Doing something similar, or very different? Let us know.
👉 Read this.
🇺🇸 Space opening for Native American-owned businesses #
A coworking space named Native Spaces opens next month in the Rose District in Broken Arrow. The space is not just for small businesses, several Native American tribes will also use the space.
"We want to show Native American citizens that you can do it. It takes a lot of hard work." – Steven Hollabaugh
👉 Read this.
Coworking news & views.
📹 Fun (and clever) multi-channel coworking marketing campaign #
You may not know this about me, but my earliest work in tech was building the digital components used to enhance offline marketing campaigns. So, when I saw this this social-slash-IRL promotion campaign by Brain Embassy Antwerp it pressed all the right buttons for how to run a smart and highly engaging campaign.
Check out the video ft Rutger B, Amogh Mogre & Paulien Derden and let me know what you think.
👉 Read this.
🤖 AI (and automations) will take over repetitive tasks in the workplace #
Lee Daniels head of Workforce EMEA and Workforce UK, JLL shares a prediction that Ai and data-driven automations are coming into the workplace and that within 10 years he expects "it’ll be a foundational part of businesses and it’s fast on its way to becoming a resource that takes over data analysis and repetitive tasks, freeing people to create, research and identify new opportunities.".
👉 Read this.
🏷️ Is it time for coworking sub-categories? #
Ian Minor pens an article that asks if we’ve hit the point where we need to better categorize coworking offerings and brands to better define "who we are, what we do and what we offer".
This isn’t the first time a call has been made to add some kind of differentiation or taxonomy around the kinds of products and solutions we all offer the world of workers. I’ve not seen the restaurant analogy used like this before, but have heard comparisons to the categorization of hotels a few times.
My question to you is, do we need more categorization or will brands themselves become the categories?
👉 Read this.
😌 9 micro-mindfulness tips… #
… to prevent you screaming "where are are the blooming forks!?" at the next member who walks into the kitchen.
There’s a lot going on across the world, around your space, within your business and in your lives. James Ware shares nine 60-second micro-meditations can help you recenter when everything gets a little too chaotic.
I may or may not have used 3 or 4 of them this morning. Yes. Already.
👉 Read this.
🤗 You do not have to convert EVERY tour #
Lisa Huffman at Workspace reminds us that our coworking spaces do not have to win every tour.
"After giving several tours this week, I was reminded that filling offices isn’t just about capacity. It’s about finding the right people." Yeap!
👉 Read this.
👚 What would Barbie’s dream office look like? #
So Barbie seems to be… well… everywhere. No seriously, the movie is causing such a commotion that following opening weekend some stores and counties actually ran out of pink paint. (Even Google goes pink when you search for Barbie). So when I saw this really-pink post by Laura Kozelouzek and the folks at Quest that showed off what they thought a perfect office for the fashion-doll could look like, I had to share.
It’s a great campaign and even if the office is a little ‘too pink’ for you, it shows off a few things: how quickly they move with an idea, the customizability of their units and that the team can have fun.
👉 Read this.
🦅 Another wild bird makes a coworking home #
It seems like even the birds want in on coworking! Coco shares how Noche the Nighthawk has chosen their rooftop deck as her nesting spot.
This follows the ducklings settling into Clockwise in Glasgow, making it 2 sets of coworking birds in 2 weeks. Not all trends will be super-serious it seems. Got a wild bird guest (or member if you’re fancy like that)? Let us know!
👉 Read this.
🇦🇺 A cube-filled update on the W365 Victoria acquisition #
Michael Benson, CEO at Cubes.co, shares an update on the whole Workspace365 Victoria deal.
ICYMI: The Victoria network was acquired by what was then called Accelerate X, which was then rebranded to Cubes.co. While Workspace 365 Victoria, has now been rebranded to CorporateCubes.co, sitting alongside the group’s creatives-focused brand called CreativeCubes.co.
👉 Read this.
💯 Normalizing that there are MANY places for people to remote work from #
Rowena Hennigan shares a great post calling on folks to normalize that remote work does not equal working from home.
👉 Read this.
⛳️ What can we learn from this Google Maps partnership? #
Brendon Beebe shares a take that the recent integration between GolfNow and Google Maps (which allows listed businesses to get direct bookings via search results) could actually wreck golf courses.
Given the moves being made in workspace aggregation, I think its a good idea to see the pros/cons of partnerships like this in other industries, and think – if this happened in coworking, would it help or hinder our business?
👉 Read this.
🎉 An activity-based redesign of networking events #
Jamie Dundas, Managing Director of Good Space, shared how advice from an event expert transformed their event design philosophy. A quote about creating "gatherings that I wish existed in the world" led the team to acknowledge their own discomfort at traditional networking events. Rather than forcing conversation, they developed a gamified checklist giving attendees multiple activities to choose from, providing easy conversation starters and exit strategies.
The approach proved successful with several attendees completing the entire checklist and expressing enjoyment. This shift away from "traditionally dreadful" networking formats towards creating events that address social anxiety can provide structure for meaningful interactions.
👉 Read this.
🤗 When building community, reach outside your walls #
Cat Johnson shares a reminder that the best community-focussed coworking spaces actually reach a little (ok a lot) outside their member base. By positioning your workspace as a resource for the entire neighbourhood, you generate leads and build a resilient network of supporters and backers.
👉 Read this.
📢 Creator-led space hits 72% occupancy in 3.5 months #
45 days ago we shared that Charlie Ward and his Ramen Club community for bootstrappers (chasing and surpassing ‘ramen profitability’ together) were launching a coworking space in London called Ramen Space.
This week they shared that they’ve hit 72% occupancy (60+ members) in under 4 months. As more online community leaders (or content creators) look towards creating physical spaces, this could be an interesting risk or opportunity for established operators.
👉 Read this.
📄 Platform shares guide for firms exploring coworking spaces #
Liza Mash Levin proves Gable are pulling out all the stops when in comes to connecting organizations (and their remote teams) to coworking spaces, by sharing that they’ve put together an "Ultimate Guide to Bring Teams Together at Coworking Spaces".
Love it when brands not only educate organizations on coworking benefits, but guide them on how to be successful in bringing coworking spaces into their workspace ecosystem and company culture. Nicely done Liza!
👉 Read this.
💼 What senior flex space talent really wants #
Gaia Almeida from Bottle Rocket Search shared five key insights about what senior candidates prioritize when considering leadership roles in the flexible workspace industry.
The analysis reveals that top talent seeks meaningful impact over portfolio management, wanting to "build something that lasts" rather than execute others’ visions. Senior candidates demand clarity on organizational structure and real autonomy, with one example citing frustration over needing "4 sign-offs to change the coffee supplier."
Work-life balance has become critical, with candidates rejecting burnout culture in favor of clear priorities, realistic expectations, and leaders who take holidays without guilt.
👉 Read this.
🏃♂️ A reminder that scaling coworking is not a sprint #
Philip Ellis shares a reflection on 13 years of growth at Techspace, from a small 4th-floor loft space with secondhand furniture for 32 members to their newest location that will host over 1000 across 80k sqft.
👉 Read this.
💡 7 International Coworking Day ideas #
International Coworking Day is around the corner. OfficeRnD share 7 creative ways to celebrate the occasion in your coworking space.
What we like about the list is that it touches on ways outside of just opening your doors to potential new customers, to build community, reward existing members and engage your neighbours.
👉 Read this.
😮 Could this be the precedent-setting office-building conversion? #
Canary Wharf Group (CWG) have shared plans to convert the 42-floor "HSBC tower" into a GORGEOUS (seriously, check out the photos) mixed-use building and ecosystem. While the design has not been finalized (and is set to cost between £400M and £800M), I do love the idea of carving away glass and walls to a destination including "best-in-class workspaces, leisure, entertainment, education, and cultural attractions”".
ICYMI: The bank is set to move out of the building in 2027, and going to a smaller HQ near St Paul’s Cathedral and reducing their office space by 40%. The building, actually called 8 Canada Square, is managed by CWG on behalf of the Qatar Investment Authority. The revamp is proposed by US architecture firm Kohn Pederson Fox and expected to be finished around 2030.
👉 Read this.
📧 Why email beats social media for engaging your community #
Bernie Mitchell encourages coworking operators to build email newsletters as owned audience channels, rather than relying squarely on social media platforms and their ever-changing algorithms.
He outlines a five-step system for coworking spaces to create weekly newsletters. Referencing multiple examples (including TWIC), he makes a solid case that consistent newsletter publishing helps coworking operators understand member needs, while also creating content that can be repurposed across other media channels.
👉 Read this.
🇵🇹 Residential development touts coworking space #
The luxury residential project called Docks Matosinhos, by Beglian developer Thomas & Piron included the that the 31-unit project will include an approximately 1500 sqm "installation of a coworking space" in their press announcements.
This is a trend that’s spreading over many territories, and one I’m watching closely for you all.
👉 Read this.
📺 WeWork expands digital sign ad partnership to N. America #
German digital signage company Framen, an Axel Springer subsidiary, secured a deal to deploy 782 displays across 183 WeWork locations in the US and Canada.
CEO Dimitri Gärtner revealed the partnership took five years to develop, building on Framen’s existing network of over 700 WeWork screens in Europe. The company achieved 99.8% advertising utilization rates across German coworking displays in June, with international markets reaching 80-90% utilization.
PS. Framen has shifted from a pure revenue-sharing model to a freemium approach, offering premium clients like WeWork unlimited functionality and advertising prioritization.
👉 Read this.
🛒 Putting startups and creatives into super prime store space #
Becky Jones shares that Someday Studios have been appointed by Westminster City Council to help shape the future of Oxford Street, one of the world’s most famous retail streets in the world. The 3 year project will have the firm place startups and creatives into ridiculously high-footfall premium locations, rent-free.
I love this, can’t wait to see who their first stores feature. I also think there’s a huge partnership opportunity here with coworking spaces and Someday.
👉 Read this.
☑️ The 6 key steps for preparing to sell your coworking space #
Asen Stoyanchev from OfficeRnD shares a pretty complete guide on preparing your coworking space for sale, including expert tips from Craig Baute (DenSwap) and Jamie Russo (Everything Coworking), some resources to check out and a valuation calculator.
👉 Read this.
🇨🇦 A quick update on childcare + coworking in BC #
BCBusiness highlights 3 coworking and childcare businesses operating in British Columbia. They compare the offerings from Nestworks, Produckidvity and OneSpace – and they’re each quite different.
I hope we see more spaces exploring how they can offer childcare solutions in a safe and sustainable way.
👉 Read this.
🎨 Local space shows off gallery from little creatives #
Freddie Fforde shares what happened when the Patch Twickenham site team invited in a group of children for a spontaneous art workshop. The result? A lovely popup display of kids’ creativity and art from right within their wider community.
If you’re in the work near home category, what could you be doing to engage with your neighbours?
👉 Read this.
🇬🇧 ICYMI: What HB Reavis has been flexing in London #
With the completion of HB Reavis‘ latest development, Worship Square, Steven Skinner reflects on the over £1bn of developments the firm has delivered in London since 2017.
In case you missed it, part of the rollup includes that they introduced their own coworking brand HubHub, rolled out a managed workspace product, and even established (and sold) their worktech platform Symbiosy.
👉 Read this.
🇩🇪 State government starts pilot to leverage coworking space #
Stanley Fuls shares that the Brandenburg state government has started a pilot to place employees within local coworking spaces and that it could be extended so long as they can ensure data security.
The point is made that if banks (and fintechs, lawyers, accountants, federal agencies and others) can make the IT security work, then so can a state government.
👉 Read this.
🛍️ How to avoid losses from cross-channel shopping #
Mike Sullivan from Alliance Virtual Offices shares why a pricing policy can help prevent losses from having inconsistent prices across different platforms and channels.
Mike outlines how you could avoid losses via pricing consistency, Minimum Advertised Price, one-time discounting strategies and regular price monitoring.
👉 Read this.
Share This Week's Summary
💻 Coworking technology.
🙈 Workspace operator shocked that large operator can’t ‘do’ on-demand. #
William Stokes, co-founder at Co-Space, shares his experience trying to pop into a WeWork location for less than 60 minutes before their next meeting.
In short: Will had to pick a day pass, or go to a coffee shop I guess. The post also thanks platforms like Flow, Upflex and Tally Market for making on-demand access doable for his own space.
👉 Read this.
📅 Hybrid workforce scheduling platform raises $20 M Series A #
Dan Bladen shares that Kadence have secured $20M in Series A funding led by High Alpha, with participation from Kickstart, Four Cities Capital, Manta Ray Ventures, Sovereign’s Capital, Midwich Ignite, and 515 Ventures.
The workplace operations platform has grown to over 600 customers across 40 countries since its 2022 seed round, with enterprise growth accelerating 5X in the last 12 months. Notable customers include Boeing, BDO, Porsche, Ashurst, MIT, Starling Bank, and various government organizations globally.
Aaron Skonnard, co-founder and former CEO of Pluralsight, will join Kadence’s board as part of the funding round.
👉 Read this.
🤖 Workspace booking app touts AI-powered search #
Tally Workspace has announced their new AI-powered office search functionality as part of their platform. Users can type in a prompt describing the type of space they are looking for, which then delivers a short list of locations that match the search requirements.
As more AI features are incorporated into flex workspace solutions, the TWIC team is always keen to check them out. We tested out this functionality and the prompts that were submitted returned a search page with the requirements we added as pre-filled search fields with a short list of locations that matched some of the search criteria.
👉 Read this.
🌎 Global remote-first co gives coworking access to 3k employees #
GitHub have picked Desana to give their distributed team of 3000 access to coworking and flexible workspaces to work individually or with colleagues.
👉 Read this.
🤖 Nexudus adds OpenAI to help desks #
Nexudus have announced that they’ve integrated OpenAI into their Help-desk system. This means that operators can opt-in to having a chatbot use their pre-existing data in Nexudus to answer support tickets like "my wifi doesn’t work" or other repetitive questions from members.
Interesting to see that compared to a human responding to 100 such queries, this integration is 80% faster to handle them and at a fraction of the cost (~$1).
👉 Read this.
🤖 Platform introduces Paloma, a new USPS compliance assistant #
The team over at PilotoMail have introduced Paloma – an assistant to help workspace operators complete PS forms, automate follow-ups, and provides real-time oversight regarding USPS compliance.
I like this. Almost as much as I like the Brand Bot who builds all the coworking brand profiles you see in these newsletters. Almost.
👉 Read this.
🔥 Floorplans are sooo hot right now. #
Nexudus stepped up their floor plan game with a big update to their editor. Upgrades include customizing floor plans on screen, and being able to manage contracts, bookings and proposals from the floor plan view.
This better positions the platform to compete with both inventory management platforms and newer floor-plan-focussed platforms like Rayon, Bright Spaces, and Archilogic.
👉 Read this.
🔧 Could combining tech cos drive faster evolutions? #
Flexible workspace expert Michael Dubicki (now at NCG) shared an insightful post where he identified four technology companies transforming flexible workspace operations through data intelligence and process automation. He suggests potential combinations could create significant industry impact, such as WIN plus ReturnSuite for asset class credibility, or FlexGrade plus Uniti AI for objective decision-making.
Is this as the beginning of "operational self-awareness" phase for the flexible workspace sector, moving beyond product understanding to internal process optimization?
👉 Read this.
💻 Great design inspo for your space’s website #
Optix released a comprehensive guide featuring 15 coworking space website examples from clients across multiple countries including the US, Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Singapore.
The showcase highlights diverse design approaches from spaces like Bad Company in New Zealand, Barnfox’s retreat-style branding, Bounce Space’s creative factory settings, and Elevate Coworking’s women-centric community in North Carolina. The featured websites demonstrate various business models including traditional coworking, niche markets for therapists and creatives, luxury member clubs, and artist-led community spaces.
The guide does a great job emphasizing how these operators leverage Optix’s Web Widgets and automation tools to boost website conversions and streamline member onboarding.
👉 Read this.
Coworking data.
🚀 Coworking supply up 10% last quarter #
Researchers at CoworkingCafe break down coworking space stock availability in the 25 largest US markets, as well as their size and distribution.
(This is slightly longer than usual summaries, but some fascinating data in there to share)
Counts: 6,163 coworking locations in the US, up 10% this quarter from 5,612 in March. Manhattan surpassed the 300-space threshold, (total of 305 flex workspaces, up 5%). Los Angeles saw a growth of 2% (269 spaces) and Washington, D.C. registered a 7% growth (261 spaces). Chicago and Dallas-Fort Worth rounded out the top 5 markets, with 234 and 231 coworking spaces, respectively. Houston market logged an impressive 16% growth in Q2 in the number of coworking spaces, up to 208 from 180 in March.
Size: the total allocated square footage on a national level adds up to over 120 million, which accounts for 1.74% of the total square footage covered by office spaces nationwide. Manhattan once again leads in terms of allocated sqft. with 14.45 million, while Los Angeles logs 6.71 million sqft. Manhattan followed the national growth trend in terms of coworking square footage (6%), while Los Angeles registered a slight decrease of 1% in June, compared to March 2023.
Pricing: the national median rate for a virtual office was $143, while open workspaces went for $149 and dedicated desks for $329. All three of these rates went up in the second quarter of 2023, with the most pronounced increase seen in virtual offices – a 51% increase.
👉 Read this.
📈 5 key findings from the recent Coworking Automation Survey #
With close to 100 respondents from around the world, the results to Optix‘s recent survey offer valuable insights into how much time operators spend with their technology tools each day, what they wish they had more time for in their business, and how much that time is worth to them.
👉 Read this.
🇨🇦 Why enterprises are flexing in Canada #
Kane Willmott shares some insights and data from iQ Offices‘ own members around why many enterprise workspace leaders’ companies are turning to coworking.
The strategic infrastructure shift allows them to do drive down CapEx and long-term obligations, compress moving and scaling timelines, outsource hospitality ops, leverage shared amenities, and attract top talent through vibrant ecosystem embedding.
Kane also shares a graph noting that 82% of their occupancy mix (by desk count) are Enterprise customers.
👉 Read this.
😲 42k locations by end of year, APAC the largest market with 11k. #
The team at andcards share an interesting list of statistics on the coworking sector.
Now I do have to preface this link with a note that this seems to be a guest post and there are no links to sources or hints as to where the numbers come from.
Having said that, they do note that by 2024 there may be 42k coworking spaces, APAC is the single largest market (approx 11k spaces), and that the three biggest coworking cities are London, New York and Hong Kong. They also highlight that the no. of spaces in the US is up 55% since 2017, and that New Delhi saw the same level of growth in a single year. Projections are that the average space has 190 members, around 41% of members are women, and that there will be over 5 million coworkers by end of the year.
👉 Read this.
🇷🇴 Firm introduces five-category flex office classification #
Tudor Popp shares that Beyond Space is preparing to release Romania’s first structured flex office market study featuring a comprehensive five-part classification model ranging from casual creative spaces to ultra-exclusive clubs.
The study reveals flex office penetration in Bucharest remains low at just 1.75% of total office stock, while expanding analysis beyond the capital to include Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara, and Iasi for the first time. The classification system categorizes spaces across amenities, design atmosphere, community events, privacy levels, target clientele, pricing models, and membership structures. The research indicates landlords are increasingly adopting management agreements and hybrid lease models to diversify risk and boost net operating income.
We’ll do our best to share an ungated copy of the full report when it’s released.
👉 Read this.
🇬🇧London office prices up 3.4% QoQ #
Data released from Rubberdesk’s June 2022 London Flexible Office Market Report shows that increasing demand for serviced offices pushed prices up across the greater London region by 3.4% QoQ to £690 per month.
Central London is the most expensive and in-demand district to rent an office, seeing a 1.1% increase in the median price, and a 5.6% drop in vacant office space QoQ. Southwark represents the best value at £704 per desk while demand for space in Westminster has pushed rents up 7.9% to £830 per desk per month.
👉 Read this.
📈 Dubai office rents surge 36% annually as market strengthens #
Matt Hewitt summarized Savills Middle East’s recent Q2 2025 report that shows Dubai’s office market experiencing 36% year-over-year rent growth, though 11 of 23 submarkets saw no quarterly change indicating stabilization in some areas.
The market is driven by limited supply and strong demand, with ~1M sqft of new office space is expected in late 2025 to Q1 2026, largely pre-committed to tenants. Financial services, technology, and consulting sectors accounted for 84% of the reported leasing transactions, while 44% of Savills’ Q2 enquiries were for large spaces between 10k-20k sqft.
Emerging trends include landlords favoring global brands and institutional tenants, the increased adoption of flexible space strategies, and growing interest in Dubai South and Expo City due to affordability and accessibility.
👉 Read this.
🌳 How office landlords are boosting energy efficiency #
A new study by infinitSpace and The Instant Group has identified which energy-saving measures are the most widely used by office landlords, and which will be prioritised in the years ahead as part of ambitions for a net-zero commercial real estate sector.
In short they results from the 250 commercial landlords were ‘setting waste management targets’ (31% already implementing), ‘flex space’ and ‘thermal efficiency measures’ (both 25%). 67% mentioned that they planned on implementing flex space in the future, bringing the total to 91% offering flex space in the near future.
👉 Read this.
📉 Winter has come, with 91% drop in new construction starts #
Gabe Marans of Savills shared some data that the office development sector is experiencing what’s being termed a "development winter" with new office construction starts dropping 91%. The decline represents the lowest construction volume in decades and is already impacting pricing structures and accelerating tenant decision timelines.
The dramatic reduction is attributed to the current interest rate environment combined with changing office usage patterns post-pandemic. Does this new construction slow down create an opportunity for workspace operators? We think so.
👉 Read this.
🤓 5 trends driving workplace decisions across 9 countries #
Gensler share five workplace trends that are driving priorities for the new workplace.
In shore they are Mobility (workers expect autonomy and ability to work from anywhere), Choice (a workspace ecosystem – ie a variety of work settings to pick from), Privacy (maintaining the privacy they’ve gotten used to working remotely), Hybrid (or at least an improved hybrid office experience), and Health & Wellness (offices aren’t just for working).
👉 Read this.
💸 Poor UK offices costing economy £71 billion yearly #
Research featured in a recent article in The Times found that inadequate office environments are costing the UK economy £71 billion annually. The study revealed employees lose 68 minutes per person per week due to workplace inefficiencies including slow lifts, unreliable Wi-Fi, and insufficient collaboration and focus spaces. The research quantifies the economic impact of substandard office infrastructure on worker productivity across the UK market.
Shared by Steve Coulson, the Founder and CEO of Kitt, he summarized it perfectly: The office should never be an obstacle. With all the calls for return to the office, if the conversation doesn’t include environments that support people doing their work, what’s the point?
👉 Read this.
🇬🇧 A glance at London’s flex market #
Michael Dubicki shares Flexioffices’ London State of the Market for Q2.
_They saw an increase in both building listing growth and QoQ (quarter-on-quarter) desk rates – even with lead volumes seemingly down from Q1. _
👉 Read this.
🇪🇸 Malaga becomes third hottest flex market in Spain #
Demand for coworking space in Malaga is growing rapidly, with a total occupancy of all flex desks sitting at 92%. This puts the city in third place re: flex demand, behind just Barcelona and Madrid. Worth noting that both CBRE and Savills have noted that expansion is limited by a shortage of suitable space to be converted into flex spaces.
👉 Read this.
🇬🇧 Another UK flex report shows office desk pricing is up 3% #
Harry Murphy shared the UK H1 2024 flex office market snapshot from WorkThere.
In it they share that the avg price per private office desk is £614 p/month, up 3% from H1 2023 (which contradicts Rubberdesk’s report of decreasing prices from last week). London did see a 12% year-on-year rise in price per office desk.
Interestingly, the average length of flex space terms increased by 27% to 15.6 months. They do also report that flex spaces in London are operating at 82% capacity (by contract) while the rest of the UK sits at 83% – both down from 88% and 86% in H1 of 2023.
👉 Read this.
🇺🇸 AY drops a new index re: US office utilization #
Harry Klaff shared Avison Young‘s new Office Busyness Index, which provides a rich data snapshot about how much US office buildings are being utilized.
👉 Read this.
Coworking market moves.
🇪🇸 Impact Hub owner takes major stake in regional operator #
Impact Hub Madrid’s parent company (Agartha Real Estate) have taken a majority position in OneCoWork, consolidating the two brands and preparing a strategy of regional expansion.
👉 Read this.
🛋 Global flex provider starts fitting out spaces with swappable reusable furniture #
Herman Knevel shares an announcement from IWG about a partnership with Nornorm to redesign its offices, starting with its high-end Signature brand and Spaces locations.
The latter designs workplace furniture and rents it on a subscription basis. Founded on the idea of maintaining, refurbishing and reusing furniture, the startup allows customers to change their fitouts or scale them up and down as needed.
👉 Read this.
🇩🇪 Mega-merger creates 44-space 3000+ member network. #
The German brands SleevesUp! and Work Inn are merging. The new company will support over 3000 members across locations in 29 cities across "Germany’s largest decentralized coworking network". They are also aiming to grow to 100 locations by 2028.
What I found out: A new brand will be formed and announced soon, you’ll find out more here in the newsletter as soon as I know more details. Pricing and membership will be streamlined by the end of the year, and after the new parent brand is introduced. Sebastian Schmidt will lead Finance, Expansion and Business Development. Sebastian Fuss is responsible for technology. Dörte Schabsky will take care of operations and interior design, while Tim Schabsky is responsible for revenue, people, and impact.
👉 Read this.
🌱 New device uses 76x less water, 58x less carbon and replaces disposable cups. #
Douwe Driehuis shares that ISS Facility Services in the Netherlands are testing new devices from auum to help quickly clean reusable cups within offices. This testing comes ahead the paper cup ban coming to the country from 2024.
👉 Read this.
🇵🇭 Group announces multi-phase expansion in Manila #
Chris Edwards, CEO at The Flexi Group, shares that Common Ground will be expanding in the Philippines through a multi-phase partnership with local developer Megaworld Corporation.
He notes that they aim to more than double their footprint in the Greater Manila Area over the next few quarters.
👉 Read this.
📞 Is there room for another phonebooth competitor? #
Noah Margo-Dermer from Branch announced their long-awaited phone booth collab with Pillar Booth. Starting at $6,395, with a 3-4 week turnaround and available in dark or light colorschemes, its a pretty addition to their existing line up, and a new option for spaces exploring ways to offer quiet call spaces.
👉 Read this.
🇬🇧 Infinitspace opening their newest (& largest) space #
Infinitspace has announced that they are opening their eleventh workspace and largest location to date. The 103k sqft space, in London, spans nine floors and offers over 1,700 workspaces, meeting rooms, communal areas, and an outdoor garden.
The opening expands their portfolio to eleven locations across two continents, with nine European workspaces operating under their premium beyond brand in London, Amsterdam, and Berlin, plus two locations in the UAE.
👉 Read this.
🛍 More vacant retail spots converted into coworking space #
Matt Imbruglia shares news that they, Better Cowork LLC, are converting a 55k sqft former Boston Store Furniture Gallery into a coworking space. This will be their 3rd location, bringing their total number of workstations to 750 across 120k sqft in Waukesha Country. This other two locations are also conversions and slated to open in January and April.
Alex Simic, principal at Better Cowork who previously developed self-storage facilities shared why they’re focussed on creating more coworking spaces: “It’s the fastest growing real estate subsector in the country”. Hear! Hear!
👉 Read this.
🇬🇧 Huckletree launches 10th hub #
Gabriela Hersham announced Huckletree Kensignton will be opening in a few months time. This is the 10th Huckletree location.
👉 Read this.
🇬🇧 Commuter coworking co launches 3rd hub #
Freddie Fforde and the Patch team share that their third location, in Twickenham, is now open.
👉 Read this.
🇺🇸 Carr gets a rebranding #
Carr Companies, which owns Carr Workplaces and the Preferred Office Network amongst other brands, has rebranded to CarrAmerica.
👉 Read this.
🛒 Spanish hypermarket being converted to coworking/work city. #
Coworking Europe shares that Carrefour group are tranforming a hypermarket in Alicante, Spain into a 22k sqm "Work City". The project is set to include offices and coworking capacity of 1800 desks.
👉 Read this.
☀️ California gets another Green Hive Space #
Drake Rankin shares that Green Hive Spaces are opening a new location in Vacaville, California.
👉 Read this.
🎙 Coworking conversations.
Tashi Dorjee is joined by Ashneel (Ash) Sharma from OfficeRnD on TWIC’s Unpacking APAC: Australia miniseries, where they dig into tech stacks, how they impact the people who work in and at flex spaces, and where AI is or could be making big changes.
Chiko Abengowe, founder of Perfect Office, joins Gio and Jamie on the Flex Uncensored podcast where he shares his transition from staffing industry professional to owning 20 coworking locations in the DMV area.
Tuomas Sahi, CEO of Antilooppi, joins The Caleb Parker Show to share how their focus on understanding and serving the needs of their customers led them to providing flexible solutions and services in Helsinki.
Liz Elam and Zach Smith talks about creating immersive indoor nature experiences to boost productivity, lower stress, and improve acoustic performance
Graham Clarke and Anne-Marie Murphy dig into tackling the admin burden each coworking space owner knows too well on their first episode of Baseworx‘ Flex That Worx podcast.
Jamie Russo chats with David Brown about why he oversold flex desks in his two London community coworking spaces.
Cat Johnson joins Taylor Mason and Kevin Whelan on the 2 Marketers and a Coworking Podcast to dive into a topic that’s a core element of coworking—but also one of its strongest marketing advantages: community-building.
Caleb Parker chats with Douwe Dirks from NORNORM about the circular ecosystem, furniture-as-a-service, and furniture’s role on the evolution of flex space business models on the WorkBold podcast.
Dan Sofer discusses how he didn’t mean to build a peer-led coding movement (that spread from Camden to Gaza and beyond) with Bernie Mitchell on the Coworking Values podcast.
Cat Johnson chats with Kate Schwarzler about the regional economic and social impact coworking can make through supporting entrepreneurs and small businesses on the Coworking Out Loud podcast
Rebekah (Bex) Murphy, Chief Revenue and Experience Officer at Hub Australia joins Liz Elam on the GCUC podcast to unpack the game-changing mindset of Unreasonable Hospitality; lessons from a summit dedicated to creating world-class experiences; and how hospitality done intentionally and personally is the only long-term competitive edge in an industry where products can be copied, but feelings can’t be.
Cat Johnson join Gio and Jamie on the Flex Uncensored podcast to chat about her mission to make sure the community piece is intact and that we’re aligned with what coworking has always been and don’t drift too far into desk rental territory.
Matt Going chats with Jamie Russo about the changes and updates to CMRA requirements that spaces who over any mail services need to comply with on the Everything Coworking podcast.
Chiko Abengowe shares his journey from discovering coworking to establishing Perfect Office‘s flagship location on the GCUC podcast.
📆 Coworking events.
🎯 Convo: Attract remote employees to your space #
29 July: We saw a rise in remote work due to the pandemic and it’s a trend that’s here to stay. But remote work doesn’t always mean work-from-home. How can you attract these workers to your space?
👉 Read this.
🚀 Drive ROI by Leveraging Outside Expertise #
10 August: The Global Workspace Association will be covering case studies about how business owners in our industry get to the next level quicker by knowing when to use the right resources.
👉 Read this.
🇩🇪 GCF announces new coworking networking event dates #
20 September, 18 October, 15 November, 13 December: Johanna Voll shares that the German Coworking Federation have updated their local coworking networking event format, but also that they’ve announced the next 4 dates. If you’re operating in this region, block the dates and check the link for more info.
👉 Read this.
🎁 Transforming coworking with hospitality #
The GWA‘s July Coworking Council Series webinar is titled “Transforming Coworking with Hospitality: Trends, Technologies, and Strategies,”. Moderated by David Arraya, with panelists Javier Garcia from IOS Offices and Morgan Trego from Shift Workspaces, this session will explore how hospitality principles can transform coworking environments to enhance member experiences and operational efficiency.
👉 Read this.
🦾 How to automate coworking space access #
Struggling to manage member access at your shared space? This webinar is designed for you! Join us (Spacebring and Kisi) on the first day of August to learn how automate access and solve common problems from industry experts.
👉 Read this.