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✊ Coworking impact.
📰 Coworking news & views.
👩💻 10 multi-location operators form data-sharing network #
Elliot Gold (from Work.Life) shared about the formation of the Workspace Intelligence Network as an operator-led initiative to share data to form collective knowledge to drive growth. In short: data-sharing and anonymous benchmarking, without expensive intermediaries.
The other founding members include Office Space In Town, techspace, The Boutique Workplace Company, Canvas, Orega, Runway East, Spacemade, Uncommon, x+why, The Arterial Group and the Workpad Group.
👉 Read this.
🚶 Study questions health benefits of standing desks #
Recent research challenges the perceived health advantages of standing desks, suggesting that prolonged standing may not reduce heart disease risk and could increase circulatory issues like varicose veins. The study, involving over 83,000 participants, found that extended periods of standing did not lower the likelihood of heart disease or stroke. Instead, both excessive sitting and standing were linked to higher risks of circulatory problems. These findings indicate that regular movement, rather than merely alternating between sitting and standing, is essential for cardiovascular health.
While this editor is summarizing this whilst on a walking pad at a standing desk, we openly admit that these findings are fairly common sense and remind us of that famous Benjamin Franklin quote: "Everything in moderation…including moderation."
👉 Read this.
🧘🏻♀️ Publication explores coworking spaces as care-focused social hubs #
A recent publication by Vika Zhurbas, Janet Merkel, and Eva Beloncikova presents coworking spaces as "social infrastructures of care," offering a new perspective on coworking’s role in fostering informal, everyday care practices. They argue that coworking spaces promote social interdependence, creating environments that enable transformative politics and new solidarities.
Does coworking play a greater role than ever in providing people with social connectivity in an ever more unpredictable socioeconomic environment?
👉 Read this.
♿️ EU to enforce web accessibility standards #
Thilo Utke of Cobot shared a great post reminding coworking spaces in the EU that they will soon be required to meet minimum online accessibility standards, with laws effective from June 28, 2025. This mandate aligns with WCAG 2.1 Level AA, covering requirements from color contrasts to assistive device navigation to ensure inclusivity for all users.
As operators incorporate more tech into their operators and aggregators and platforms set up more integrations, it will be important to ensure all your technology partners are compliant.
👉 Read this.
😫 Do coworking members really need their own insurance? #
Tim DiPietro from StartSure shares that he’ll be doing a new series of posts on LinkedIn, digging into popular questions that coworking space owners have about insurance. He starts with a big one, "do our members REALLY need their own insurance?!", looking at 3 times you definitely want your members to have their own coverage.
Spoiler alert: they are property damage claims, injury (especially around social events) and property theft.
👉 Read this.
💻 OpenAI CEO criticizes coworking spaces for stifling ambition #
Vincent Weir from Nordic Science Capital shared his take on comments Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI and former head of Y Combinator, has voiced, pointing strong criticism of coworking spaces, claiming they foster a “reversion to the mean” that stifles the ambition necessary for breakthrough ideas. While Altman argues that coworking environments kill both bad and promising ideas, Weir advocates for examples where startups have thrived.
OpenAI is growing it’s global real estate footprint and has opted to open their own dedicated offices, rather than leaning into hybrid/remote work in flex workspaces. Not the first time we’ve heard from fast growing startups that "coworking isn’t good for startup culture", but many companies are proving otherwise.
👉 Read this.
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💻 Coworking technology.
📈 Coworking data.
🇬🇧 UK flex market expands with demand for premium spaces #
CBRE‘s UK Flex Market Update 2024 highlights the continued growth and maturity of flexible workspaces across major UK cities, driven by corporate demand and a shift towards high-quality offerings. Key markets like Manchester and Birmingham are seeing increased take-up in smaller, premium spaces, while London remains strong, with large occupiers benefiting from pre-let opportunities for customized setups.
The trend of “flight to quality” shows that occupiers prioritize well-designed, sustainable environments, often choosing flex spaces over conventional leases. As the market matures, we expect consolidation, with operators and landlords joining forces to create more expansive portfolios. If you’re more interested in this specific topic, we suggest you tune into our latest interview with Phil Kirschner on the TWIC Podcast.
👉 Read this.
🇬🇧 England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland see growth #
CoworkingCafe just released their quarterly report on the state of the coworking in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
In it they share that the region now boasts 3,089 locations (2,718 in England, 202 in Scotland, 105 in Wales and 64 in Northern Ireland). Greater London still leads by size with 887 spaces, followed by Manchester with 74 hubs.
The national median price for dedicated desks sits at £210, with Brighton and Hove holding the highest median price at £310, and Newcastle and Sheffield at the other end of the price spectrum at £189. Open space median prices are £160 (£245 in Greater London). VO are £50 per month nationally, while Greater London has the highest median price at £100. Meeting rooms are listed at a median hourly rate of £25 at the national level, reaching as high as £46 / hour in Greater London.
Regus leads the pack regionally with 195 coworking spaces throughout the UK (with less than half of its national portfolio is concentrated within the 15 busiest coworking markets). Fora comes in second with 66 spaces nationally, 64 of which are concentrated in the top 15 markets – particularly London. With a similar distribution pattern, 55 out of Workspace Group’s portfolio of 57 coworking locations, are in the top 15 cities, predominantly in the London area. The Boutique Workplace Company comes in fourth with 40 and Spaces rounds out the top 5 with 39 coworking spaces.
Ireland has a total of 234 coworking spaces, almost half of which can be found in Dublin – 116. The top three operators in Dublin are Pembr, which has 18 coworking spaces, Iconic Offices with 12 spaces and Regus with 9 spaces.
👉 Read this.
🤝 Coworking market moves.
🧟♀️ Firm makes first zombie-building office #
Remember the firm we introduced in Week 49, 2023 to acquire zombie buildings in smaller US markets? Mark Hemmeter shares that the firm have made their first office building acquisition in Westminster, Colorado – and will start by converting the first two floors to open the first Work Simple location.
👉 Read this.
🏢 BXPs new amenity center to be managed by Industrious #
Industrious recently shared that they are partnering with BXP (formerly Boston Properties) on a new amenity center named Mosaic, located at Embarcadero Center in San Francisco.
Add "amenity center" to the list of trendy terms to cover a whole swath of different types of spaces focused on gatherings, meetings and activity/interaction based work.
👉 Read this.
⚕️Spacemade selected to manage health tech focused development #
The Howard de Walden Estate has announced a £52 million investment to establish a HealthTech hub centered on Hale House in London’s Harley Street Health District. Partnering with flexible workspace provider Spacemade, the development aims to position the district as a global leader in health technology and innovation. The hub will encompass three reconfigured buildings designed for health startups, investors, and venture capitalists
If you’ve been following along in Week 45, you might have noticed the management agreement trend. Expect a lot more of those in 2025 and beyond. But it’s always exciting to keep seeing more flex operators expand out into niche types of shared places.
👉 Read this.
📺 Former ITV HQ set to be digital hub #
Norwich City Council is nearing completion of a £4 million refurbishment of Townshend House, transforming the former ITV regional headquarters into a digital hub for tech start-ups. Set to open in spring, the facility aims to accommodate up to 25 companies and create approximately 200 jobs. The hub will be managed by IWG.
The UK, along with other European local governments have been at the forefront of creative public financing around repurposing spaces on high streets and their equivalents of CBDs. While past deals have been more centered around leases, along with other trends we are witnessing, this is a shift towards third party management agreements.
👉 Read this.
🎉 Strive Workspaces opens 4th location in DFW #
This past week, Strive Workspaces opened a new location in North Dallas. Their 14th in total and 4th in the DFW market. This brand is managed by third party operator Flex Workspace Solutions.
👉 Read this.
🇧🇪 Clockwise expands with new Brussels location #
UK-based coworking provider Clockwise Offices is set to open a second location in Brussels’ prestigious Louise district, marking its first independent management agreement with real estate fund PATRIZIA SE. Spanning 3,300 square meters, the new space will offer over 300 desks, private offices, a collaborative lounge, and facilities for cyclists and electric vehicle users. This expansion builds on the success of Clockwise’s first Brussels site and reflects Belgium’s importance in the company’s European growth strategy.
Their COO, Alexandra Livesey will be at Coworking Europe next week speaking on how this management agreement signifies a shift towards partnerships with external landlords, a model aimed at accelerating Clockwise’s future expansion.
👉 Read this.
🇮🇳 Indian operator to double workspace capacity in 2025 #
Innov8, a prominent coworking brand in India (now owned by OYO), plans to double its centers to 100 in the coming year, expanding from its current 45 centers across 10 cities. The company aims to triple its seating capacity to over 50,000 to meet rising demand from modern professionals seeking flexible, collaborative workspaces.
This expansion aligns with a broader trend in India’s commercial real estate, where flexible office space now accounts for 21% of transactions, as detailed in a recent Knight Frank India report. Bengaluru leads the charge with the highest number of deals, reflecting the city’s central role in the country’s flex space growth.
👉 Read this.
🛍️ Workspace operator to transform UK retail landmark #
Workspace operator x+why has announced its expansion into Clapham Junction’s iconic Arding & Hobbs building, set to open in Spring/Summer 2025. Partnering with W.RE, a fellow B Corp, x+why will transform the former Edwardian department store into a vibrant mixed-use hub for work, socializing, and community gatherings. The new space will feature private offices, dedicated desks, meeting rooms, event spaces, and a roof terrace, with x+why’s signature hospitality-led club space offering on the third floor.
Clapham Junction is the UK’s business rail hub. We’ve recently seen DB shut down their train station coworking concept, so it’s interesting to see the demand for this project and points to a possible pivot in use case. Rather than a smaller workspace/travel lounge at multiple stations, the demand will be more for gathering spaces at key transit hubs. Similar to Seats2Meet in the Netherlands.
👉 Read this.
🇺🇸 Network quietly surpasses 35 US locations #
Barry Greenfield shared LocalWorks are opening another location in downtown Boston.
ICYMI: the network has quickly (and mostly quietly) built a network of over 35 locations across 8 states.
👉 Read this.
🎙 Coworking conversations.
Phil Kirschner joins Hector Kolonas on the This Week In Coworking podcast to dig into hyperlocal business trips, learning from mobility in college campuses, the challenges of corporate coworking and the concept of ‘experience density’.
Julianne Becker, co-founder of Coconat, joins Bernie J Mitchell on the Coworking Values Podcast and shares how coworking has changed in Germany, especially outside big cities, where local initiatives like the German Coworking Festival have created a network connecting spaces and people nationwide.
Dorothy Rogers-Bullis and Dan Bullis, founders of Saratoga CoWorks, joined Jamie Russo on the Everything Coworking podcast, where they dive into implementing flexible layouts with a whole bunch of personal touches.
In 2009, Kata Klementz and sister Panni were the first in Hungary and one of the first in Europe to set up a coworking space, called Loffice. One of their members, OXO Labs Ltd, is celebrating 10 years of being at the space and to celebrate that, recorded a discussion about their shared past and the role of coworking offices in the process of the transformation of the labour market.
