What we learned from 100,000+ network devices about successful connectivity in flex.
Hey there, we’re technologywithin and we’ve put together our second annual Connectivity Trends Report sharing insights from over 630 UK flex office locations.
If you’re wondering what % of private office tenants take dedicated bandwidth services, or how many of those take a backup line too, or even how operators are pricing dedicated bandwidth – this free report is for you.
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✊ Coworking impact.
⛪️ Church House launches Cape Town’s first NPO coworking space #
Church House, located beside Cape Town’s historic St George’s Cathedral, has opened as the city’s first coworking space dedicated to nonprofits. The space aims to establish Cape Town as a global hub for NGO activity, featuring offices, a grand event hall, and coworking designed for mission-driven organizations. The location will also feature a cafe, open to the public, located on the ground floor.
As markets mature, the trend is for spaces to open up that target or service niche industries or unique space needs. While the concept is not new, it’s exciting nonetheless to see a market like Cape Town grow to the point where a location like this can determine there’s enough demand to support the need.
👉 Read this.
🇳🇱 Baltimore leader spreads coworking message at ImpactCity #
Dr. Tammira Lucas from The Cube Cowork shared some key points from their recent trip to The Hague in the Netherlands to speak at the ImpactCity festival.
We love seeing community builders come together, both inside and outside coworking, to explore building stronger, more inclusive entrepreneurial communities. More of this please!
👉 Read this.
💰 Boston’s annual small business grant contest reopens #
Workbar announced that their annual Small Business Grant contest is now live. Originally launched in 2021, the grand prize this year is a $5k grant, a full year of free coworking, and a featured episode on their podcast Setting the Bar.
👉 Read this.
📰 Coworking news & views.
🫖 Details matter, a member’s perspective #
Dima Kiselev shares how the community team at Clockwise delighted them with an immunity-boosting hot tonic.
A fantastic reminder of the little things you can do to make your members feel cared for (and then sharing that with their own networks).
👉 Read this.
❓ What is polyworking and why should coworking operators care? #
In his recent Forbes article, William Arruda explores "polyworking," a trend where professionals engage in multiple roles or projects simultaneously, reflecting a shift towards more flexible and diversified career paths. This approach allows individuals to leverage various skills, pursue multiple interests, and create varied income streams, aligning with the evolving dynamics of the modern workforce.
Some of us at TWIC, and across coworking, have been "polyworking" for years now – what we considered to just be freelancing, consulting or "multi-hatting". But, as more individuals turn to this form of employment, are flex workspaces more or less important? We might be biased, but we believe more so. That said, it’s important for those designing spaces to better understand the differences in needs and preferences for these polyworkers compared to those within "traditional" roles and organizations.
👉 Read this.
🧮 Just how “effective” are your membership plans? #
Asen Stoyanchev from OfficeRnD shares how to craft profit-driven membership plans, and arguably more importantly, how to evaluate them.
👉 Read this.
🇸🇪 Swedish operator outperforms 4 VC-backed firms #
Homan Tehrani, founder and CEO of Ioffice, shares that VC cash has ‘doped up’ the local coworking industry. When comparing the 2023 turnover numbers for the top 5 operators in coworking and "office hotels" (not heard that term in a while), only 1 of them shows a positive sum. Instead of taking this as a sign that coworking is struggling in the country, Homan shares that the other 4 are struggling to turn a profit due to being VC-backed.
It’s an interesting comparison to the dotcom bubble, but we wonder if privately funded operators outperform VC-backed (or PE-backed) firms in other regions.
👉 Read this.
📡 Why 1000 Sats is different from Everyworks #
Caro Windlin shares their take on why 1000 Satellites is taking a different approach from the recently shuttered Everyworks. Notably, they focus on sustainable scalability and regional networks.
👉 Read this.
📍 A choose your own adventure guide to flex workspace #
Hub Australia shared a creative piece of marketing via LinkedIn that helps potential customers understand what type of flex space products will best fit their specific needs. A great idea for operators out there that struggle with clearly defining the various flexible workspace options they offer.
As more and more occupiers search for flex solutions and operators continue to diversify products to include drop in options, private offices, event space and more, it’s understandable that prospects can easily get confused. On the one-hand this creative take helps empower the decision maker to have more confidence in their decisions, on the other remember when it was either get a membership or don’t?
👉 Read this.
📣 Summary from WOTSO annual general meeting #
Publicly traded flex workspace company WOTSO hosted their annual general meeting where they shared updates and insights on the company. Notable points shared are that they’re no longer classifying themselves as a REIT, that they’re still working on correcting how flex space occupancy is valued by capital markets, and FlexSpace’s stellar results including being debt free.
WOTSO has been in the news a lot – and featured here in TWIC just as much. If you’re curious to learn more about their strategy and what makes them different (as an operator), tune into a recent interview we’ve published with their CEO Jessie Glew.
👉 Read this.
💭 Some thoughts on where we may all be going #
Deskworks brings together top industry experts to reveal insights on thriving in today’s coworking world. From flexibility to financial balance to passion and positioning, these leaders explore trends and strategies that are shaping the future of coworking.
Notes from Kayley DiCicco (EXPANSIVE), Kevin Whelan (Everspaces), Jaime Munoz (CO+HOOTS), Adrian Simpson (The Yard), Hector Kolonas (Syncaroo), Lisa Skye (Skye Advisory), Michelle Stiegler (Premier Workspaces), Clark Rinehart (LOCAL Coworking), Sam Shea (LiquidSpace), and Geoffrey Hunt (formerly Common).
👉 Read this.
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💻 Coworking technology.
☑️ New integration brings Nexudus events into WordPress #
When we think of coworking integrations, we often think of magical tech that connects the most complicated parts of our businesses. But sometimes, "simple" integrations are what unblock community managers the most. This week Syncaroo share that they’ve helped a few operators automate how public-facing events in Nexudus get onto their WordPress-powered marketing and sales sites.
Ground-shattering tech integration? Nope. But are there any more ‘add events onto the website’ todo list items for ANY of these teams? Nope again.
👉 Read this.
📈 Coworking data.
📉 Office CMBS delinquency rate reaches post-crisis highs #
The delinquency rate for commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) in the office sector surged to 9.4% in October, marking the highest rate since the aftermath of the financial crisis. Many landlords struggle to cover loan interest due to high vacancy rates and depreciated property values, with some buildings selling for land value alone. Despite hopes for relief through Fed rate cuts, the structural challenges of overbuilt, under-occupied office space persist, casting doubt on the sector’s recovery timeline.
"Survive til 2025" is the current motto for the CRE industry. Many banks are trying to figure out what to do with these assets they are taking over and flex workspace is a leading strategy for how they fill them up. If partnering with these banks isn’t part of your growth strategy, that’s probably something worth investigating.
👉 Read this.
📈 IWG reports strong Q3 growth and expansion in 2024 #
IWG’s third-quarter trading update for 2024 reveals notable growth in revenue and expansion across its global network, with a 52% increase in net center openings and a 46% rise in managed and franchised fee revenue. The Company-Owned & Leased segment also saw profitability gains, with margins up by 330 basis points. CEO Mark Dixon highlighted the company’s focus on strategic growth and debt reduction, supported by new credit facilities and bond issuance. IWG’s positive outlook includes plans for a continued expansion of its capital-light model and a transition to US GAAP accounting standards in 2025.
Overall, the most recent update from IWG paints a rosy picture for the firm, however they acknowledge continued delays in their Worka app, which has been positioned to be their on-demand offering. As the aggregator marketplace continues to become more crowded, is IWG really behind on development or are they waiting for an impending consolidation before making a play?
👉 Read this.
🇬🇧 New quarterly London market report highlights landlord shifts #
Rubberdesk’s quarterly report for the London market shows how landlords shifts are reshaping market dynamic. They report increases in vacant offices (12.8%), vacant sqft (19.1%), vacant workstations (19.1%) and median office rate (2.1%).
VP of Growth & Analytics, Tom Petryshen notes that "We’re witnessing a fundamental shift in how commercial office space is being packaged and marketed. As high vacancy rates and hybrid work models persist, landlords have strategically pivoted to provide flexible agreements to meet evolving market demands."
👉 Read this.
🤝 Coworking market moves.
🇬🇧 Oneder expands to four spaces with location in Hackney #
Oneder is launching Laundry Studios, a 20k sqft coworking space in London Fields, Hackney. Set to open in early 2025, this BREEAM Excellent-certified workspace will feature 220 desks across private offices, coworking, event spaces, a gym, screening room, and more.
Pronounced won-der, this flexible workspace management firm is on a hot streak with this latest announcement. We wonder if they will continue creating new brands for future managed locations or if they will begin to expand upon the brands they’ve now established.
👉 Read this.
🆕 Following local expansion, Lucid adds new Dallas location #
Lucid Private Offices has announced the opening of its newest location in the North Park area of Dallas, Texas.
The addition of this 35k sqft location follows their recent expansion of its McKinney location, where an additional 3k sqft of workspace has been added to meet demand.
👉 Read this.
🤝 12 franchised locations merge to form Denver Coworking LLC #
Starting January 1, 2025, Denver Coworking LLC will unite 10 Office Evolution and two Venture X coworking locations, becoming the largest locally owned coworking network in Denver with over 225k sqft of workspace. This consolidation aims to offer a seamless coworking experience across the Denver metro area.
Fresh off the heels of the Vast Coworking + WeWork partnership announcement, we are witnessing a ripple effect of consolidation among operators of brands that are part of Vast’s portfolio. Will this lead to additional merging of brands and locations?
👉 Read this.
🇦🇺 WOTSO makes first Melbourne acquisition #
Jessie Glew, CEO of WOTSO, says Melbourne has been the missing link in their network of 28 locations across Australia and New Zealand. But with an agreement signed last week, the firm’s decade-long search has ended with the purchase of a whole floor in the historic Bank House within the city’s CBD. The 6.1k sqft location will be shared between Speirs Ryan (taking approx. 1k sqft) and WOTSO operating a flex space in the remaining space.
👉 Read this.
🎙 Coworking conversations.
On the latest episode of the GCUC Podcast, Liz Elam interviews Ryan Simonetti, CEO and co-founder of Convene, to explore how coworking has evolved and how hospitality shapes lasting member experiences. Ryan opens up about his 15-year journey building Convene, sharing how the pandemic taught him key lessons on resilience, values-driven hiring, and the pursuit of higher standards in service and design.
Dean Connell joined the Caleb Parker Show to share experiences from delivering over 2M sqft for WeWork as one of the firm’s original seven designers – and what landlords and operators can learn from them.
Anant Yardi joins Gio and Jamie on the Flex Uncensored podcast for a candid conversation on leadership, vision, and the next big moves in the coworking and flex space industry.
Ryan Fogelman from COhatch and Fire Rover joins Hector on the official TWIC Podcast to chat about going from an accidental coworking space to a network of 44 hubs, to creating two scholarship channels for local change makers, a new podcast to celebrate their members, and their big project to build a startup and innovation village in Dublin, Ohio.
📆 Coworking events.
💡 Convo: Hospitality Strategies for Your Space #
What makes a great hospitality experience in a coworking space? And how can you level-up your own hospitality efforts?
Let’s chat about it!
👉 Read this.
🔮 What is essensys Intelligence Engine? #
Join essensys for a deep dive into their Intelligence Engine. Uncover how high-resolution, actionable insights into space utilization, tenant behavior, and digital experience can drive real outcomes your commercial real estate portfolio.
Learn how data-driven intelligence enables you to drive occupancy, increase yield, and reduce operating costs across your portfolio. Discover how to turn these insights into impactful strategies, improving tenant experiences, optimizing resources and enhancing asset valuation.
👉 Read this.
