FRANCHISEFOCUS INVESTMENT: FROM £35 0,000 Good moves IWG (REGUS) is a smart pick for franchise partners, post-pandemic W
hile the long-term effects of Covid-19 are still taking shape, it’s already clear
that the use of office space has permanently changed. Easing lockdown restrictions won’t spell the end for remote working, insists IWG Founder and CEO Mark Dixon: “The pandemic has certainly had a dramatic effect, but it’s merely accelerated a trend that’s been under way for several years, as organisations progressively move to a ‘hybrid’ way of working: at home, a local office and occasionally at a corporate HQ.” Forward-thinking firms had already
embraced hybrid working and IWG has long expected the hub-and-spoke model to go mainstream. Flexible workspaces will cater to rapidly growing demand as companies’ HQs become spaces for occasional collaboration (‘hubs’), and their staff pivot to doing day-to-day work from locations closer to home (‘spokes’). IWG has enjoyed a record start to 2021, with 900 new corporate clients adding more than a million users to its global network of flexible workspaces. To meet this demand, IWG is constantly working to expand its network.
"IWG is the right partner for this sector"
The first six months of the year saw a
350% rise in the number of new flexspace locations signed up by IWG franchise partners, compared with the same period in 2020. A total of 20 new franchise partners joined, inking deals that will see more than 110 new flexible workspaces enter development internationally. In the UK, specifically, there has been a surge in demand for flexible workspaces outside the City of London, with franchisees stepping up to meet this need. WG1 Offices recently signed a cluster franchise deal confirming
plans to open five new flex spaces over the next four years in residential areas across the capital. Founded by friends Jamie Graham and
James Wright, WG1 is a new venture, but Wright’s credentials in particular mean it’s well set up for success. Former Head of Real Estate Finance at Capita, Wright has extensive experience in commercial property. Demand for IWG workspaces in some M25 commuter hotspots surged by as much as 175% during the pandemic. This move towards local working was behind Wright and Graham’s decision to focus on northeast London. The abundance of housing stock and
commercial real estate in WG1’s target areas makes them particularly suitable for ‘spoke’ office developments, according to Wright. “If big deals [for local flexspace access] are coming through, where do we see young professionals from Standard Chartered or the equivalent corporate clients living?” he asks. “Where do we see suitable office stock that we could get access to, and where do we see
transport and ancillary services that can accommodate the type of workers that we’re going to want and need? These areas tick all of those boxes.” While it’s still early days for WG1, Wright
and Graham are optimistic about the future of the franchise and confident that IWG is the right partner to make their plans a success. “IWG is the longest- standing, best capitalised and most profitable of the large operators in [this] space,” says Wright. “So it is the right partner for this sector.” Just as importantly, IWG is positioning
for fast growth in the years ahead. As Dixon says: “The trends towards hybrid and hub-and-spoke working are irreversible and accelerating fast. The future of work is already with us.”
IWG (REGUS) Workspace
franchise.iwgplc.com 01132 806 989
BUSINESSFRANCHISE.COM 67
Investment level: £100k+
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