German Coworking Brand To Launch 45 UK Locations Within 3 Years

• Global coworking and co-living provider, rent24, is expanding into the UK and Ireland by taking a majority stake in London coworking provider, The Brew
• The investment will inject equity capital into the London workspace, now known as ‘The Brew by rent24’
• The partnership aims to expand The Brew’s 5-strong portfolio to at least 45 coworking spaces over the next three years

German coworking and co-living provider, rent24, is expanding into the UK and Ireland, through taking a majority stake in London-based coworking provider, The Brew.

The investment will inject equity capital into what will now be known as The Brew by rent24 and will fund the opening of at least 45 coworking spaces over the next three years.

The 45 locations will cover an anticipated 1,350,000 sq ft, which will put The Brew by rent24 in the top five providers in London and well within the top ten in the UK, as the firm aims to attract over 35,000 new members. The deal allows The Brew by rent24 to rapidly scale with the aim of being valued in the region of £500 million in three years.

Founded in Germany by Robert Bukvic, rent24 creates technology hubs for entrepreneurs, founders and innovators, with members spanning start-ups to enterprise businesses. The company has more than 45 locations across three continents, and ambitions to open more than 185 active locations worldwide by 2020, making it one of the largest international communities of businesses and freelancers.

Founded in 2012 by Andrew Clough, The Brew is an established UK coworking provider, with five locations across East London and the City. Clough, now CEO of The Brew, commented: “When I started The Brew, coworking was still in its infancy and despite rapid growth over the last few years, there is still huge scope for expansion and innovation in the market. More people are entering the gig economy or starting their own businesses, which means they need convenient, flexible and affordable places to work.

“Beyond that, coworking brings benefits to businesses of all sizes, including large corporates, which are increasingly looking to tap into the thriving and dynamic community it offers. The support and investment of rent24 is fantastic news for The Brew and for our members, providing access to a global network of spaces and members, as well as innovative technology, which promises to make the coworking experience more seamless than ever.”

There is a cultural synergy between the two brands, which both take a hospitality-style approach to coworking. rent24 incorporates co-living, co-retailing, co-fooding and events, catering to members’ needs 24/7. Meanwhile, The Brew was the first UK provider to launch a food element to its offering with The Coffice – a café you can work in.

“The UK and Ireland are key markets for rent24’s coworking and co-living offering, with predictions that coworking alone will become a £16bn industry in the coming years,” commented Robert Bukvic, Founder and CEO of rent24. “We’ve been considering a move here for a while but wanted to ensure that we found the right partner to support us. We were immediately impressed by The Brew’s understanding of the UK coworking market, as well as its values and ethos, which focus on service and community.”

rent24 also brings its tech-driven approach to the new company, having recently launched an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) to build its own Decentralised Application, PRIMARY.  PRIMARY will use Blockchain technology to connect the digital with the real world by incentivising member collaboration through the use of smart contracts. The platform will reward users for producing content, interacting with the community or completing tasks, and will automatically connect users who have complementary needs and skills, using an AI algorithm.