Business & Money | Wednesday 25 December, 2019 3:27 am |

With the continued economic growth driving demand for flexible, convenient and connected workspace solutions, leading global workspace provider IWG, that includes brands such as Regus and Spaces, has announced plans to introduce its franchise offering for flexible workspaces in the Middle East. 

The IWG franchise model is a first-of-its-kind in the region and offers landlords, private equity firms, multi-brand franchise operators and high-net-worth individuals with the opportunity to buy into this lucrative market at attractive returns. 

Currently, IWG sees tremendous cluster franchise opportunities in the market. Depending on the location, franchise partners will have the opportunity to open and manage 5+ centres within 2 to 3 years, with the option to further expand.

Mazen Soukieh, Head Of Growth, IWG said: “As people increasingly look to work flexibly, the demand for places for them to do so is growing; and as the corporate real estate market continues to grow, global real estate giant JLL estimates that up to 30% of corporate real estate could be flexible workspace by 2030.[1]

The co-working industry is estimated to be growing by 24% each year.[2] We have witnessed this growth firsthand in our locations in Egypt, KSA, UAE, Kuwait and the surrounding countries, and to take this a step further, we are rolling out our franchise offering in the market. 

He added: “Traditionally, franchises have been considered the preserve of the consumer lifestyle industries. Retailers, restaurants and hotel chains are first-choice for many property decision-makers looking to invest, because of the brand recognition that a lot of businesses in these sectors hold.”

Flexible workspace providers offer a place where large corporates can place remote working teams, call centres or even their head office without the headache of fixed leases. SME’s, freelancers and other corporates also benefit from the all-inclusive plans, which means they don’t pay separately for utilities and can scale up or down with a month’s notice.

Flexible workspace is also proving to be a solution to fill the many inner-city buildings that remain empty in current markets and prospective investors are afforded the opportunity to build a property portfolio while buying into the flexible working market.

“Partnering with IWG gives business owners the ability to participate in this growth story and take advantage of the huge demand for flexible, contemporary workspaces – one of the most exciting growth markets in the country.”

“Our years of experience in the industry and our well-established global network has taught us that building a quality flexible workspace offering requires trust and support. We work closely with our franchisees to ensure that they have a framework to find the right location and design, backed by the strength of our operational and marketing support and the global customer service that IWG is known for.