Major serviced office company Regus has launched its coworking franchise across Australia in order to tap into second tier cities such as Townsville and Newcastle.
Damien Sheehan, country head of IWG Australia, said that Regus hopes to grow its franchise network to 100 new centres over the next five years through landlord partnerships and tapping into new markets.
“It’s an exciting opportunity for landlords and real estate funds, who rather than build their own coworking business can plug in and play the Regus model and tap into double-digit returns,” said Sheehan.
Currently, the company operates 79 flexible offices across 80,000 square meters, with 60,000 more on the way.
Franchisees will operate each space under the Regus banner and also have access to IWG’s global office network.
When prompted about the possibility of oversupply, Sheehan said that JLL research found that about 30% of the total commercial real estate sector could eventually be taken up by coworking, especially as large corporate tenants continue to favor flexible office spaces.