When Should Landlords DIY Space-As-A-Service?

Details And Data From Workthere, Powered By Savills

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“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 Williams, Workthere

Welcome to Episode 3 of Season 8 of the #WorkBold Podcast, sponsored by TSK.

One of the reasons we launched the #WorkBold podcast was to help our landlord clients understand the why, what and how Space-as-a-Service can improve the leasing strategy of their portfolio.

My team and I have analyzed and created business plans for hundreds of assets. Many of which we end up operating too.

I’ve been encouraged to see the broker community lean into flex in recent years. And want to shine a light on the folks I believe are working hard to share best practice like we do on this show.

So I’m thrilled to see Savills backing the Space-as-a-Service movement, and delighted to share this interview with the leaders of their flex advisory platform product, Workthere.

In this episode, Cal Lee and Jack Williamson join me in our podcast studio at XCHG at 22 Bishopsgate to drill down into the details of why, what and how landlords should be thinking about Space-as-a-Service.

Get ready to write notes because we get into a lot of 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 course brand considerations.

Workthere just released their Flexmark 3.0 and we discuss some of the key findings from their data backed research, such as The top 5 requested features of a flex space.

Side Note: Jack and I recently shared the stage and the Coworking London Conference 2022, and I gotta give him another shout like I did from that stage on his super cool wardrobe.

Connect with Cal on LinkedIn

Connect with Jack on LinkedIn

Connect with Caleb on LinkedIn?

If you have any questions or feedback on this episode, email?[email protected]

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:

• Workthere Flex Mark Report, 2022
• Savills Landlord Flex Survey, 2022

Shoutouts:?

• XCHG @ 22 Bishopsgate
• Antony Slumbers

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)

Launch Your Own Podcast

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