The Instant Group Acquires Commercial Real Estate Consulting Firm Incendium Consulting

• The Instant Group announced this week that it acquired CRE consultancy firm, Incendium Consulting Ltd.
• The acquisition will allow Instant and Incendium to enhance their real estate consultancy capabilities.
• The news of the acquisition comes at a tipping point for the industry as Commercial Real Estate stakeholders increasingly look to flexible workspace in order to add value to their properties and increase revenue opportunities.

The Instant Group announced yesterday that it has acquired Corporate Real Estate consultancy firm, Incendium Consulting Ltd. According to the release, “the acquisition capitalises on Instant’s global, market-leading position in independent flexible workspace solutions through adding enhanced real estate consultancy capabilities.”

In June last year (2018), Bowmark Capital backed the buy-out of  The Instant Group. At the time, the company announced that the Bowmark investment would allow Instant to scale its business and take advantage of the industry’s “vast potential”.

Incendium Consulting was founded in 2015 and it provides large real estate services procurement, consulting, and change management programs to blue-chip clients.

Speaking about the acquisition, Instant Chief Executive Tim Rodber said, “Clients are demanding more choice across their office portfolios as they grapple with growing their businesses in a fluid political and economic environment.Shorter lease terms and the rise of the flexible workspace have been two outcomes of this challenging business climate – Instant is increasingly being asked to deliver ever more complex global solutions for some of the world’s largest organisations.

“Bringing Instant and Incendium together gives clients access to independent market-leading consultancy, world class data and delivery options that transform their approach to workplace in what is a truly distinct offer in the market.”

Mike Perkis, Managing Director at Incendium, said “Clients are struggling to drive value through their conventional real estate strategies and are increasingly looking to introduce an agile, innovative approach that matches modern business demands.”

The news comes at a tipping point for the flexible workspace industry as more property owners look to flexible workspaces as a way to add value to their properties and cater to the changing needs of today’s corporate and commercial tenants.

You might also like:

• The Top 5 Ways CRE Is Crossing into the Coworking Industry
• Are Management Contracts the Future of the Flexible Workspace Industry
• Should Property Owners Delve into Operating a Coworking Space?

In the UK, the US, and APAC, property owners have started to partner with existing flexible workspace brands to add coworking to their buildings and some, like Tishman Speyer, have launched their own flexible workspace brands. As tenants increasingly ask for larger and flexible space requirements, existing flexible workspace operators will need to increase their footprint and hone their service offering.

The entrance of CRE players to the industry spells both trouble and opportunity for existing flexible workspace brands. On the opportunity side, operators can partner with property owners to grow their brands. On the trouble side, property owners that launch their own flexible workspace brands will be reluctant to lease out space to competitors, which could hinder operators’ opportunities of growth and scalability.

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