FRANCHISEFOCUS
With thousands of locations worldwide, it helps businesses provide their employees with access to local office and coworking space in the heart of their communities. During the pandemic, IWG saw a surge in demand for flexible workspace outside of Central London and other major cities. Instead, companies were starting to seek locations in areas close to their employees’ homes. Taking London’s commuter belts as an example, this year, IWG reported that demand in Uxbridge rose by 175%, while in High Wycombe it rose by 52%. Meanwhile, demand for flexible offices in the City of London had decreased by 26%. It’s no surprise, therefore, that flexspace is rapidly
emerging as the leading option for franchise investment post-pandemic. Franchise partnerships with IWG rose by 350% during the first half of 2021, and they are a crucial part of the company’s strategy to expand its footprint and satisfy demand for local flexible workspace. IWG’s franchise proposition is a unique one.
Offering unrivalled network coverage and a portfolio of brands targeted for every hybrid work need, partners are set to gain from its unparalleled 31-year history, providing the added protection of working with a trusted and established brand with a proven track record.
“New flexspace locations will be a vital component of post- pandemic town centres”
For investors interested in exploring this high-
growth sector, the adoption of hybrid working is an important factor to consider – and turning their attention to locations outside of city centres is a wise move. Global companies such as NTT and Cisco are
partnering with IWG to restructure their office portfolios to accommodate a hybrid work set up. Reducing the collective commute of their more than 300,000-strong teams has a positive impact on the environment, as well as employee wellbeing, while allowing people to work more flexibly is a smart tool for retaining and recruiting top talent. What’s more, the cost savings are significant – a report from Global Workplace Analytics estimates that each employee working in the hybrid model saves a business $11,000.
“The true enemy is the daily grind of commuting”
As they seek flexible workspace outside of city
centres to enable hybrid working, companies are also fuelling the growth of the 15-Minute City movement, an urban planning concept where everything we need lies within a 15-minute walk or bike ride from our front doors. “The 15-Minute City is about people wanting to have more of their life more local,” IWG Founder and CEO Mark Dixon recently told Bloomberg Technology. “The true enemy is the daily grind of commuting. That’s what people are looking to avoid. They’ve appreciated more time at home, or closer to home, during the pandemic.” Hybrid working has an important role to play in
the 15-Minute City. A recent report from IWG and Arup found empowering people to work more locally – and opening new flexspace locations to accommodate them – leads to four key benefits for local economies. These were: job creation, increased footfall and spending, the transfer of white-collar work away from city centres, and increased productivity for local businesses making use of these locations. And according to the UK government’s High Streets Task Force** – which is examining the future of British towns – new flexspace locations will be a vital component of post- pandemic town centres. They create potential for reinvigorating existing community spaces such as retail centres, business parks and libraries that have been hit hard by many socioeconomic factors over past decades. “Just when local cities and towns seemed to be
dying, Covid-19 may have come along and saved them,” says Dixon. “The realisation of the 15-minute commute will be one of the most dramatic and long-lasting legacies of the pandemic.”
Fancy a stake in the fast-growing flexible workspace sector? To partner with IWG, get in touch today.
IWG (REGUS) Workspace
franchise.iwgplc.com 01132 806 989
BUSINESSFRANCHISE.COM 43
*
https://www.iwgplc.com/MediaCentre/Article/why-employees-prefer-hybrid-working-to-pay-rise **
https://www.highstreetstaskforce.org.uk/faqs/the-changing-high-street/
Investment level: £100k+
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