Flexible workspace firm IWG opening up 100+ opportunities

Sarah Stowe

IWG, a flexible workspace provider, plans to open up new opportunities to invest in the business with a strategy to develop up to 150 franchised centres  across Australia and New Zealand.

There are regional pockets identified for development across New South Wales and Queensland, while cities in Tasmania and New Zealand have been earmarked for multiple sites.

For 30 years IWG has operated office locations for rent in urban areas and transport hubs. Options include  coworking facilities booked by the hour to long term office leases.

Mark Bhardwaj leads partnership growth at IWG for Australia and New Zealand and reveals the business has a 30-centre target each year for up to four years in Australia. Over the next four years the target in New Zealand is for a total of 30 centres.

“All numbers are for locations outside the core CBD areas in both countries and do not include company run centres,” he said.

He believes the trend for more flexible working, which was given extra importance during the Covid pandemic, will continue as employees and employers seek fluid working practices.

“The appetite for flexible and co-working spaces was booming in Australia pre-Covid and the pandemic has only increased demand.”

In 2018 a study was commissioned by Regus, an office-hiring brand in the IWG portfolio. The research was conducted by independent economists and predicted that 30 per cent of all commercial real estate globally will be flexible workspace in 2030, the business model worth more than $14.5 trillion across 16 countries including Australia.

Last year IWG signed its first Australian franchise deal with Queensland NightOwl convenience chain owners Adam and Katrina Adams. The agreement will see a number of new centres opened across regional Queensland.

Adam Adams, CEO of The Adams Group, said “There is a clear gap in the market for a high-quality product and our goal is to partner with IWG, the global leader, with a strong brand, professional infrastructure and worldwide network to fulfil this need.”