Future Retirement Success
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks

Future Retirement Success

Business

Rise of serviced offices aimed at hybrid working boosts IWG

by March 8, 2023
March 8, 2023
Rise of serviced offices aimed at hybrid working boosts IWG

IWG, the world’s biggest provider of serviced office space, reported record revenue last year after cashing in on the popularity of hybrid working.

Mark Dixon, the property industry veteran and IWG’s founder and chief executive, believes that head offices are becoming “either dead or much smaller” now that working from home has become more popular.

“[Hybrid working] is one of those things where everyone is a winner, unless you’re a real estate investor with offices in downtown areas,” Dixon, 63, said. “It’s a much greener outcome, lower costs for companies and much better for people.”

He said those office owners have turned to IWG, formerly known as Regus, to help ready their buildings for flexible working. IWG has seen “rapid growth” in demand for what it calls capital-light contracts, where landlords hand over their buildings and ask IWG to run them as serviced offices.

“If you’re a landlord, you’re looking at a totally new landscape, where the tenants you used to have aren’t there any more, so you’re looking for new ideas,” Dixon explained. “They realise that [businesses] are moving to hybrid working, so they call us and ask us to put their property on the platform and we fill it up for them and create revenue.”

Last year, IWG signed 462 such contracts and it is on track to sign more this year. Hybrid working has also helped IWG to sign up more occupiers, some of which have begun to ditch their long-term leases of entire floors and buildings and replace them with shorter, more flexible deals instead. Occupancy within IWG’s offices has risen to 73.5 per cent from 68.2 per cent a year ago.

Because of that, in addition to some price increases to cover rising costs, IWG generated record revenues of £3.1 billion in 2022, a 24 per cent increase on the £2.5 billion it turned over in 2021.

The group, which has about 3,400 centres in 120 countries, was founded by Dixon in 1989 when he opened his first office in Brussels. He remains the company’s biggest shareholder, with a 28.6 per cent stake worth about £550 million.

IWG swung to an operating profit of £147 million, versus an operating loss of £87 million in the previous year. However, on a statutory basis, the company fell to a pre-tax loss of £105 million, down from £259 million in 2021.

That partly reflected increased finance costs as interest rates spiralled higher, as well as extra investment into Worka, a new workspace booking app that IWG is building out after having merged its digital assets with the Instant Group this time last year. There was some talk last autumn that private equity firms were eyeing up Worka. IWG confirmed that it was “continuing plans to evaluate reducing its ownership stake”.

Looking ahead, Dixon said that “momentum continues going into 2023”, with revenue, operating profits, occupancy and pricing all picking up towards the end of last year.

IWG shares rose 3¾p, or 2 per cent, to 192p yesterday, valuing the business at close to £2 billion.

Read more:
Rise of serviced offices aimed at hybrid working boosts IWG

0
FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
previous post
Last chance for businesses to take advantage of Super Deduction Tax Relief
next post
10 Tips for Navigating Candidates Who Are Overqualified

You may also like

Some taxes will rise in 30 October Budget,...

July 31, 2024

The Importance of Getting Your Business On the...

February 7, 2024

4 ways to grow your business in a...

July 7, 2023

Restrict bottled water ads and tax shrink-wrap to...

June 12, 2023

UK company insolvencies hit highest since 2009

October 10, 2022

Investors join forces to call on Jeremy Hunt...

February 10, 2023

Decorating Your Home With Costway Christmas Tree

September 13, 2022

Tesco Delivery Drivers Involved in ‘Cash for Crash’...

February 11, 2024

Post Office victims’ compensation pot cut by half

December 21, 2023

Mulberry cuts 85 jobs as sales fall 19%...

November 19, 2024

    Get free access to all of the retirement secrets and income strategies from our experts! or Join The Exclusive Subscription Today And Get the Premium Articles Acess for Free

    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    Recent Posts

    • Friday Feature: Braveheart Christian Academy

      August 15, 2025
    • From admiration to Alaska: A timeline of Trump and Putin’s high-stakes encounters

      August 15, 2025
    • Schumer claims Trump admin withholding Epstein files, threatens to sue

      August 15, 2025
    • UK prices for Mounjaro weight-loss jab to rise by up to 170% after Trump pressure on drugmakers

      August 15, 2025
    • UK workers rank among the world’s most miserable, survey finds

      August 15, 2025
    • Did Oregon’s Drug Decriminalization Increase Crime or Overdoses? —Separating Short-term Spikes from Long-term Trends

      August 15, 2025

    Categories

    • Business (8,796)
    • Investing (2,216)
    • Politics (16,391)
    • Stocks (3,228)
    • About us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Disclaimer: futureretirementsuccess.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2025 futureretirementsuccess.com | All Rights Reserved