HOW FRANCHISE OPENINGS ARE TRANSFORMING LOCAL COMMUNITIES
From Honduras to Scotland, we shine a spotlight on businesses and individuals we're proud to partner with, that are expanding our network and helping to positively transform communities...
A series of new openings in 2021 and beyond are a reflection of how the role of the workspace in everyday life is changing. In part, this is a response to the phenomenal rise of hybrid working, where employees can split their time between an office HQ, a local coworking space, and their home.
But it also taps into a concept known as the 15-Minute City, an idea developed by Professor Carlos Moreno, who is Paris City Hall’s special envoy for smart cities.
The 15-Minute City is designed to improve our health and wellbeing because everything a resident needs, including workspaces, restaurants, hospitals, parks and leisure facilities, can be reached within 15 minutes by foot, bike or another mode of transport that doesn’t create pollution.
The benefits, both financially and environmentally, are there for all to see and the 15-Minute City is a central part of IWG’s vision going forward.
Here are some standout examples of how our franchise partners are also looking to make an impact within their communities.
Providing jobs for local communities
For Guillermo Pina, being the CEO of a real estate company goes beyond bricks and mortar. It is about making a lasting and positive impact.
Pina became an IWG franchise partner in 2019. The following year, he opened his first centre, Regus Torre Nova II, in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa.
In total, there will be three centres in Honduras managed by Pina’s family business, Grupo Premier. Crucially, for Pina and Grupo Premier, it’s not just about providing high-quality flexspace “but also about providing jobs for the communities we serve.
Pina adds, “We are also very active helping the communities where we operate with various community projects as well environmentally friendly actions and activities.”
“We have been recognised nationally with a Corporate Social Responsibility seal by Fundahrse for the last three years in a row. We also work closely with educational institutions to promote events at our developments.”
The Fundahrse foundation promotes businesses that contribute towards sustainable economic development, while also improving quality of life among employees and their families.
More than a workspace
Some 15,000km away, Regus Townsville in North Queensland, Australia, has become so much more than a workspace since opening in June 2021.
Townsville is the first of many centres that will be opened in a franchise partnership with the Adams Group, and one of the first businesses to move in was Life Legal, a local family law firm.
“Regus was a perfect fit for us,” says Life Legal’s Kerrie Stuart, adding that there was “a clear gap in the market for a high-quality product in North Queensland.”
IWG Community Sales Manager Rhea Penafiel also saw an opportunity to make a broader impact and establish Regus Townsville as a focal point for the business community.
Her proactive approach has led to the centre hosting ‘Ladies In Business’ networking events and kickstarter events for Townsville’s Young Chamber Committee.
There is also an ongoing collaboration with Mentally Healthy City Townsville (MHCT) – an organisation with a mission to create Australia’s first ‘Mentally Healthy City’.
Twice weekly events are hosted on the terrace at Regus Townsville, along with Mentally Healthy HIIT (high-intensity interval training) classes on Wednesdays, and Mentally Healthy yoga on Thursdays. Rhea also volunteers to help with MHCT on the weekends.
Businesses supporting each other
This year, business partners Tommy Nevin, Graeme Orr, Scott Gibson and Tony McCabe became IWG’s first franchise partners in Scotland, and they plan to open three centres, the first of which will be located in East Kilbride.
Traditionally people have travelled from here to work in Glasgow, which is 10 miles away, or Edinburgh, at 45 miles away. But Nevin hopes his Regus centre will not only spell the end of the daily commute for some people living in East Kilbride, but can also become a space where local businesses can collaborate and share ideas.
He says: “We’re looking at a high-standard serviced office and coworking environment that will attract lots of different business types and sizes, with the hope that they will be able to network and support each other.”
Across the other side of the world, IWG franchise partner Gaurav Sharma can remember a time when he was living in Jaipur and working in Uttar Pradesh, a journey that takes more than three hours by plane.
He is set to open eight Regus flexspaces across the Indian state of Rajasthan. And he hopes that bringing the workplace to the workforce will also have a positive environmental impact by reducing traffic and pollution.
“We always felt that people should actually be able to work in their own spaces, in their own cities,” he says. “We are planning our centres so that the major hubs of the city are covered. So, if somebody has to go to the office, they don’t have to travel more than two to three kilometres.”
Vibrant local communities
This is just the start. Through 2022 and beyond we will see many more openings of IWG flexspaces around the world, outside of the traditional commercial hubs.
As IWG Founder and CEO Mark Dixon concludes, “We are seeing previously dormant towns and villages come back to life,” adding that, “With hundreds more rural and suburban flexible working locations expected to open in the coming years, we expect a wide range of vibrant local communities to develop with thriving businesses at their heart.”
https://old.iwgplc.com/MediaCentre/Article/how-franchise-openings-are-transforming-local-communities