Nearly Half the Workforce is Working Remotely and Regus Gives Entrepreneurs the Opportunity to Enter the Booming Coworking Space

International Workplace Group (IWG), the multi-brand coworking franchisor with over 3,300 locations in 1,100 towns and cities in over 110 countries around the world, invented the serviced office business model more than 30 years ago, and has been continuously improving it ever since. That has enabled the company to become the unrivalled global leader of the workspace market — a market that has been growing at an unprecedented rate following the COVID-19 pandemic and the mass transition to remote work. Now, IWG is set for explosive franchise growth as savvy entrepreneurs increasingly recognize the company’s well-positioned business model, impressive brand recognition and in-depth operational support. 

“As we look at COVID-19 and beyond, small private offices give clients a place where they can come in, close their door and feel safe,” said Kurt Ullman, director of franchise business development. “Additionally, companies like hybrid or remote work because it increases productivity and saves them money, while employees enjoy a better work/life balance and less time commuting. We’ve been able to be a big part of that switch. That is why we’ve proven to be uniquely resilient against the challenges of the pandemic and are positioned for continued growth in the future.”

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, remote work was on the rise as the next innovation in office life, with the coworking space seeing an average growth of 23% per year for a decade. The pandemic accelerated that evolution dramatically. Today, 42% of the U.S. workforce is working remotely full-time, and the global coworking space market is projected to nearly double in size, from $7.97 billion to $13.03 billion, by 2025. Coworking spaces are the future of the global work environment and IWG offers prospective franchisees an exciting opportunity to get in now while there is still room.

How Regus Emerged as the Leader in the Global Coworking Space

When serial entrepreneur Mark Dixon launched Regus in 1989, he created a brand new market for flexible workspace and coworking. In the three decades since then, the steadily-growing coworking market has been led, shaped and defined by Regus and other IWG brands, which is why IWG today remains the largest industry player by far.

“Mark saw meetings spilling out of cafes, restaurants and hotel lobbies because there was a lack of meeting facilities in Brussels, where he started the company,” said Ullman. “He rented out a space that was created initially just for meeting rooms, printed up his business card and went to cafes and hotels advertising his facilities. From day one, Mark brought operational and financial discipline to make those units profitable. This is what has allowed us to thrive while other competitors like WeWork ran into financial issues. Since then, we’ve continued to build on that infrastructure and expand the company into what it is today, while always focusing on profitable operations and an entrepreneurial mindset.”

Today, IWG offers four coworking franchise concepts under its umbrella to match every kind of business, work style and price point, including professional workplace brand Regus, creative workplace brand Spaces, hassle-free workplace brand HQ and luxurious workspace brand Signature. 

“Franchisees can buy into this franchise opportunity and take advantage of the strong loyalty our brands inspire and tap into the millions of customers who use our products and services every day,” said Ullman. “Today, we are the number one workspace and coworking provider in the world and our network is already more than six times larger than that of our nearest competitor.”

How Regus Offers In-Depth Real Estate Support, a Proven Business Model and an Established Infrastructure of Corporate Accounts

With over three decades of experience, Regus has fine-tuned its franchise concepts to optimize revenue and provide franchisees with the support they need to scale their business. Best of all, the company’s multi-brand roster means when a franchisee signs with Regus, for example, they aren’t just getting the backing and operations manual of an established franchise brand, they are tapping into the resources and support of a multi-brand, global powerhouse in coworking spaces — a worldwide industry leader. 

Some of those resources include access to global customer support, IT&T, back office support for billing, invoicing and cash collection, professional support with recruitment and training for the team, inventory management administration, online training, CRM support, office service agreements and auto-renewal functionality.

Additionally, Ullman says IWG franchisees have access to a highly cost-effective, cash-generative franchise business model with impressive ROI. The approved local marketing collateral and lead generation by the global salesforce enables franchisees to achieve high occupancy quickly after opening. From there, franchisees have the opportunity to upsell and increase revenue by selling additional products and services such as memberships, meeting rooms and virtual offices. 

“We have about 2,500 people globally whose life and work is to market and drive occupancy for Regus and the IWG portfolio companies,” said Ullman. “Those are the kinds of benefits that our scale allows us to offer that competitors can’t touch.” 

Ullman says another differentiator that IWG’s size brings to the table is the company’s ability to develop corporate and enterprise accounts. “For example, when NTT decided that they wanted to switch to a hybrid working strategy, they could partner with us,” he said. “We help them revise their facilities map where they can close and downsize offices and pick up space in our franchised locations around the world. Those kinds of relationships are a huge driver of sales for franchisees.”

Thanks to IWG’s unmatched resources and expertise, franchisees will also have access to the most lucrative real estate opportunities for their franchise locations. The company knows what works, and it has the technology and evaluative resources to ensure that it finds and closes on only the best locations.

Why Now is the Time to Join Regus Before It's Too Late

Looking ahead, Regus hopes to find qualified entrepreneurs in available markets all over the country to encourage continued franchise expansion. The team hopes to add 60 new locations through 2022, targeting several high-growth potential markets including Texas and California. 

IWG is looking for prospects who know how to grow within a branded framework, can move quickly and decisively to secure deals with building owners and customers, has the financial and organizational capability to open at least five locations over a two to three year period and has experience in a fast-paced sales and customer service-oriented business.

And the team says those prospective franchisees would be wise to act now — every month that passes, the coworking field gets a little more crowded, and the best real estate gets scooped up. 

“The flexible workspace sector has reached a tipping point,” said Ullman. “Following many years of continuous growth, global demand for temporary offices, meeting rooms and coworking areas is set to explode. This is really a once-in-a-generation opportunity, similar to the very early days of franchised restaurants, gyms or coffee shops. The opportunity to join an established brand in an industry at the cusp of exponential growth doesn’t come around often, and we are excited to leverage our position to give franchisees a pathway to achieve their entrepreneurial dreams.”

For more information, visit: https://www.iwgplc.com/en-gb/develop-a-location.