Co-working office space are ones rented to people who work for different companies. Largely unknown 10 years ago, there has been a recent rise in the demand for co-working offices, as shown in the latest Global Co-Working Survey published in December 2016.

In most major UK cities, office rents are expensive and require businesses to sign long leases. Renting co-worker space is cheaper and more flexible.

There are two main groups that co-working offices target: freelancers and flexible workers. A 2015 report by IPSE called ‘Exploring the UK Freelance Workforce’ shows that there are around 1.9 million freelance workers in Britain, which is 6% of the UK workforce. Some freelancers may prefer to work from home, but others like to work in areas where they can interact with others, not least because a lot of business networking that happens between the people working in the same space.

There are a number of companies that allow their workers flexibility in work hours and location. Co-working spaces can be ideal for them.

A co-working office provides telephones and internet connections. Many have additional facilities such as conference rooms, sports facilities and refurbishments.

People can hire co-working spaces on short-term contracts. This is ideal for workers and companies that do not want to commit to a long lease.

Commercial property investors purchasing co-working spaces can use a mortgage broker to source a suitable commercial mortgage. Running a co-working space requires a different business model to normal office buildings, but if demand continues to rise, good profits can certainly be achieved in the co-working sector.