Hybrid working powers office provider IWG towards recovery
IWG, a company that delivers real estate solutions for businesses, has made a modest financial recovery as hybrid working brings employees back to offices.
IWG’s interim results show that while revenue across its centres has fallen by 10.4 per cent in the first half of 2021 compared to the same period last year, revenue has risen by 3.4 per cent between Q1 and Q2 of this year.
Occupancy levels worldwide have reached 69 per cent of pre-pandemic levels while enquiries and customer retention are back to pre-Covid levels in Q2. One of the strongest areas of improvement was for IWG’s flexible office spaces, with revenue from meeting room and day office usage up by 40 per cent in Q2.
Mark Dixon, Chief Executive of IWG plc, said: “we anticipate this momentum continuing into the second half of 2021. The significant move to hybrid working has created unprecedented demand for our flexible work products.”
In the UK, while revenue was down 13 per cent for the first half of the year occupancy has reached 68 per cent, driven by the lifting of lockdown restrictions. Offices in America, IWG’s biggest market, showed the strongest recovery with the rate of decline in revenue from open centres slowing to 12.8 per cent in Q2 from 22.3 per cent in Q1.
With recovery on the upswing IWG has expanded its network of offices to include 84 new locations with nine more ready to open in the second half of the year. Dixon said the company would approach the remainder of 2021 with “cautious optimism.”
Read more: Exclusive: IWG founder and office veteran Mark Dixon on why hybrid working is the new normal