[ad_1]
IWG, the largest group of fully equipped offices in the world, has agreed to sell its Japanese business for £ 320 million to TKP, a publicly traded company by Toyko, as the demand for flexible offices reorganizes the global market.
The two companies will have a franchise agreement, which is expected to be completed next month, in which TKP will operate the 130 flexible co-work centers in Japan with IWG brands. TKP is the leading Japanese supplier of conference rooms and banquet rooms that can be rented.
By the end of 2018, coworking spaces occupied 7.9 percent of the floor space in Tokyo's 23 neighborhoods, compared with less than 0.5 percent almost 10 years ago, according to CBRE real estate broker.
According to the Financial Times, WeWork, supported by SoftBank, spent $ 2.5 billion to expand its global operations last year, which included a push into the Japanese market.
The IWG working group, previously known as Regus, announced a decline in profits last year, partly because of the cost of increasing and restructuring its portfolio in response to the trend in WeWork style workspaces.
Mark Dixon, CEO of IWG, said Monday: "Partnerships and franchising are increasingly important elements of our growth strategy." Such transactions accounted for one-third of IWG's growth in 2018, according to the company's accounts.
Spaces, the company's shared office brand, has more than 180 locations worldwide. In March, the Financial Times reported that the informal working group was considering divesting some of its activities or raising more funds, as it hopes to build on Spaces' success.
Source link
