New data from The Instant Group shows that 584,097 new companies have been registered in the UK since the beginning of 2021, particularly across Birmingham, London, and Manchester.
As a result of this spike in entrepreneurship and startups, demand for flexible workspaces has also grown, especially in regions outside of London.
In fact, demand for coworking and serviced offices grew by 41% in Bristol, 28% in Manchester, and 27% in Reading in the past year.
Inquiries into coworking spaces in London remained stagnant, but the city still sees the majority of demand across the UK.
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Historically, coworking spaces and startups have gone hand in hand, with entrepreneurs driving the popularity of coworking after the financial crisis of 2007.
The Instant Group is anticipating a similar growth in demand following this recent entrepreneurship growth, with forecasts indicating that the flexible office market could grow up to 84% over the next five years.
“It’s really encouraging that we are seeing so many new businesses being registered. Creating opportunities for these organizations to thrive is essential for increasing productivity, creating jobs and boosting our economy,” said John Williams, director at The Instant Group. “Flexible workspace such as coworking is already back at pre-pandemic levels of occupancy as SMEs drive requirements across the UK’s cities. Coworking thrived after the last recession in 2008 as start-ups flourished.”
