Brave Ideas When Should Landlords DIY Space-As-A-Service?
Details And Data From Workthere, Powered By Savills
Quote from Guest: “There isn't a formula for flex spaces, it's about having the versatility and agility to meet the changing criteria of different occupiers and having the diverse levels of offerings across the flex market” - Jack
Summary: Join us in episode 3 of season 8 of the #WorkBold podcast to hear Bold founder Caleb Parker interview Cal Lee, Founder and Global Head of Workthere, and his tag team partner, Jack Williamson, UK Head of the flex advisory platform powered by Savills to discuss the increasing demand for flex and how they advise landlords on launching successful coworking spaces.
In this episode the three drill down into the details of why, what and how landlords should be thinking about Space-as-a-Service.
They dive into details, including footprint size, spatial allocations, the key points of accommodating a flex business plan, when landlords should partner or DIY, how to address building valuation and of various brand considerations.
Workthere just released their Flexmark 3.0 and you’ll hear some of the key findings from their data backed research, such as The top 5 requested features of a flex space.
Connect with Caleb on LinkedIn
If you have any questions or feedback on this episode, email podcast@workbold.co
Value Bombs:
The flex market is so diverse in that it appeals to a number of different kinds of occupiers - Jack
What we're finding now is that a lot of decisions business wise with regards to working locations and practices are rather than historically, being employer led, are now employee led - Jack
The power that employees have is making it more and more difficult to make decisions longer term and that therefore lends itself fundamentally to flex - Cal
Landlords are happy to make mistakes, they're happy to go on that learning journey, because they recognize that this could be 20% or 30% of their portfolio long term - Cal
Creating a trusted brand is absolutely key for any landlord that is going into creating their own space - Cal
Sticking with core values will inherently provide a better brand and a better experience for occupiers - Jack
The inherent definition of flex is to be able to have different choices - Caleb
The fact is that there are certain comforts of working from home and so we wanted to bring some of those into a setting so people are able to move around, I think it's important that you have that diversity and flexibility within the space - Caleb
Timestamps:
[6:37] The diversity of the flex market.
[8:17] The increasing demand for flex.
[10:33] The spatial allocation of a flex product.
[14:33] Should every landlord be adding flex as a leasing strategy to their portfolio?
[17:51] Advice for landlords creating their own flex space.
[19:11] The footprint template for coworking spaces.
[21:27] In terms of valuation, flex spaces aren’t looked on kindly, how are you dealing with that with your clients?
[23:39] Guiding clients down the right path.
[26:05] The key points of accommodating a flex business plan.
[27:58] The level of commitment from landlords.
[29:41] Is brand driving customer behaviour?
[32:05] How is the customer profile changing in the flex market?
[33:40] The top 5 requested features of a flex space.
[35:11] The future of flex.
Resources:
Shoutouts:
About Cal Lee:
Cal founded Workthere in 2016, a business by Savills that helps any business, big or small, find flexible office space to suit their work, their needs and their budget. Cal came up with the idea whilst working in the Commercial Development team at Savills. Cal joined Savills as a graduate in 2011 from the University of Reading where he studied Real Estate.
About Jack Williamson:
Jack joined as Head of Workthere UK in March 2021. Jack is responsible for overseeing the UK team and building relationships with both occupiers and landlords to ensure that their Real Estate needs are satisfied and to help them navigate the ever changing flexible office market. Jack was previously a partner in the Leasing & Development team at Farebrother and Partner at Flexible Office Space. He qualified as a chartered surveyor in 2015.
Sponsors:
Headline Sponsor: TSK
TSK creates inspiring workplaces for some of the world’s biggest brands across the UK and Ireland. They've been working for 25 years to deliver the best employee experiences and the vision of their clients. Not only do they create great places to work, TSK share workplace content every week from the latest data to inspiring spaces they’ve designed and built. You can read their latest insights at www.tskgroup.co.uk or check out their LinkedIn and Instagram pages to become a follower, fan and friend.
TSK publish weekly thought leadership, research and content featuring their team, clients and partners about workplace, commercial interiors, hybrid working and how others have prospered from investing in workplace. You can check their latest publications and video content in the show notes by signing up to their weekly ‘work made better’ newsletter or visit tskgroup.co.uk.
Fortune Favours the Bold
Bold merges property management & Space-as-a-Service to help office customers grow faster and drive asset value. Bold is a real estate brand owned and operated by NewFlex (www.workbold.co)
Future Proof Your Portfolio with NewFlex
NewFlex delivers and manages a range of branded solutions for every type of building, in every type of location, for every type of occupier. Including the flexibility to develop your own brand. All enabled by flexible management contracts where we are invested in making money for you. (www.newflex.com)
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