- New regional coworking brands are disrupting the U.K. market, surpassing giants like WeWork and IWG.
- The flexible office market in London has become saturated, driving coworking spaces to focus on regional cities.
- Cubo Work is a standout player, expanding rapidly since 2020 with backing from Literacy Capital, alongside other rising brands like Wizu Workspace and Runway East.
A fresh wave of local coworking brands is beginning to disrupt the dominance of industry giants like WeWork and IWG in the U.K., according to a recent report from CoStar.
As the flexible office market in London reaches saturation, coworking spaces have increasingly moved their focus to regional cities.Â
In recent years, new local players have started to gain traction in the six largest regional cities, challenging the early movers who initially centered their growth efforts in the London area.
CoStar’s report shows a notable change in market dynamics, with leasing activity from larger, more established providers slowing over the last two years.Â
During this time, newer market entrants have steadily increased their share of the market.Â
While IWG (parent company of Regus and Spaces) and WeWork were the primary drivers of expansion between 2018 and 2022, regional brands have managed to surpass these incumbents between 2023 and 2024, based on data from the U.K.’s six largest regional cities.
One of the standout challengers is Cubo Work — a coworking operator based in Derby that has made impressive strides since its founding in 2020. The company has expanded quickly, opening around eight new locations across the UK since 2022. Cubo now operates 13 sites in cities like Birmingham, Derby, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, and Sheffield.Â
The company is backed by Literacy Capital, an investment firm that acquired a significant minority stake in Cubo in 2023. This strategic backing seems to have helped Cubo expand its footprint and strengthen its position in the competitive coworking market.
This trend is indicative of a wider movement in the U.K.’s flexible office market, where regional coworking brands are gaining momentum and proving their ability to rival the market power of established national and global players.
Other rising regional operators include Wizu Workspace, 2-Work, Runway East, Orega, and Gilbanks, all of which are gaining recognition as key players in the coworking space.Â
These brands are capitalizing on the demand for flexible workspaces in regional cities, offering both competitive prices and localized services that appeal to businesses outside London.
The U.K. coworking scene is seeing more diverse options available to businesses seeking flexible office solutions, which is likely to challenge the traditional dominance of larger operators, particularly as more businesses embrace hybrid working models and seek cost-effective solutions in areas outside of the capital.
The rise of these regional coworking brands is reshaping the flexible workspace market, signaling the potential for continued disruption in an already competitive industry.
