A survey from Regus’ parent company IWG finds flexible working helps cut costs and boost employee productivity

From HR directors to entrepreneurs to PAs, flexible office spaces are helping all kinds of businesspeople work better.

In IWG’s , well over two thirds of respondents (79%) said that flexible workspace has played a role in their company’s success.

Among the key reasons are low running costs and the fact that facilities and social spaces are set up for maximum productivity.

Additionally, with Regus workspaces available in over 1,000 towns and cities around the world, professionals can cut down their commuting times and costs, as well as strike a better balance between their home and professional life.

Alex Grande, Founder and CEO of employee recognition and rewards platform Recognize, says he uses Regus offices in the US because they are well-designed and affordable.

“They allow our small company to have really nice office space when we otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford it. I have a view of the Colorado River in our private office for only $1,600 per month.

“Having a subscription for our office spaces also allows us to keep debt off our books. We don’t have a 30-year loan on a traditional office.”

Other benefits include being able to open a new branch anywhere. “Austin is a more affordable place than San Francisco, so being able to easily open an office there through Regus is huge,” says Grande. “And if our current office stops meeting our needs, we can move to a different one.”

In addition to cost savings, flexible work is a sought-out after perk for professionals.

In fact, IWG’s survey has found that more than 50% of employees worldwide are working outside of their main office headquarters for at least 2.5 days a…

For FY 2018, direct commercial real estate investment volume for Asia Pacific totalled USD 160 billion, increasing from FY 2017’s figure of USD 149 billion.

Out of this growing allocation of capital to real estate, a clear preference for value-add investment strategies has emerged.

Figure 1 shows that core, core-plus and opportunistic strategies have remained relatively unchanged in terms of their dry powder over the six years ending December 2018. 

Core and core-plus are characterised by lower risk and lower returns; generally Grade A office buildings in core locations of major cities, with diversified tenant mixes and stable occupancy rates.

Opportunistic, on the other hand, is higher risk and higher return, focusing on buildings that generally require significant enhancement or redevelopment.

Figure 1: Changes in dry powder by strategy
Source: Preqin, JLL

Value-add, however, characterised by medium-to-high risk in tandem with medium-to-high return, has been winning the popularity contest over the same period. Typical value-add categorisations would involve the purchase of an asset which is encountering operational issues or could benefit from refurbishment, then modifying and effectively repositioning and stabilising the property, before selling it at a favourable point in time with a higher valuation (usually holding for 4-10 years) to maximise return.

Lack of availability of core product

With a lack of availability of core product, investors are finding it increasingly difficult to deploy capital to core assets in central locations and are looking to source suitable product in more fringe locations.

In addition, existing owners of core assets are more reluctant to sell in the current market as re-entry and securing new assets is becoming…