GPE Pulls In Flexible Workspace Leaders To Drive Ambitious London Expansion

Great Portland Estates (GPE), one of London’s largest landlords, is adding to its leadership team to support and oversee an ambitious expansion into flexible office spaces in central London. 

The firm recently announced three new senior appointments — Felicity Roocke, Chris Stokes, and Trevor Phyo — in response to the growing workforce demand for hybrid work environments within the capital. These new hires are expected to support GPE’s goal of expanding its Flex portfolio from 0.5 million to over 1 million square feet.  

“Our mission is to be the London property company that ‘owns’ experience,” Nick Sanderson, Chief Financial & Operating Officer stated. “With our customers’ needs constantly evolving, it is important we reflect the right changes within our team structure to ensure we hit our target of delivering more than 1 million sq ft of Flex space in Central London, whilst also maintaining our market leading Net Promoter Score. We look forward to welcoming all the new talent to the team at GPE.”  

The demand for flexible office space in the U.K. has surged dramatically in the past year, with a year-over-year rise of 14% in the first half of 2024 — a 206% increase in inquiries compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019.  

A report from CoworkingCafe reveals that London continues to lead the list of coworking markets with 788 spaces — making up over a quarter of the U.K.’s total inventory of more than 2,800 locations. This is followed by Manchester, which has an inventory of 69 flexible workspaces.