There’s no limit – the workplace revolution coming to a town near you

By Andrew Cooke, Regional Director, Bruntwood

As our working world becomes increasingly flexible and less about the traditional nine-to-five, we’re excited to be at the vanguard of a new way of working – one where people feel at home at work.

Our focus is on creating flexible workspaces that have a community-feel and offer people fantastic shared facilities and amenities which enable them to embrace and integrate healthy habits, connect with co-workers, and bring a real boost to wellbeing.

We want all our workplaces to be accessible for businesses of all sizes – particularly those smaller companies which really feel the benefit of the workplace community that’s grown through shared facilities and amenities.

This emphasis on collaborative, serviced office space is part of a workplace revolution that is taking place across the UK; it’s one that began in our cities but is now spreading out of major urban centres and into our towns and countryside.

More and more businesses are opting to base themselves in workspaces that prioritise flexibility, well-being, community, connectivity and amenity.

The swell of demand for high-quality serviced offices, initially driven by innovative tech start-ups but now embraced by a host of commercial sectors, shows no sign of abating.

So, as serviced offices continue to proliferate beyond the big cities, what is drawing occupiers to the new generation of flexible locations in our towns and beyond?

On a basic level, it’s about availability.

Businesses don’t have to be confined to city centres any more, as there are outstanding options available elsewhere, offering all of the benefits that city-based serviced space boasts. But what other factors are at play?

Scalability and Agility

Out-of-town serviced space is now being developed with agility and scale-up potential in mind.

Bruntwood’s recently refurbished Trafford House is a good example.

Based in Old Trafford, an area becoming an increasingly attractive hotspot because it boasts good transport links to the city centre, Trafford House offers accessible rents and short, flexible leases to start-ups and smaller companies, combined with the kind of amenities normally associated with city centre working.

It’s the type of environment that SMEs prize – enabling expanding companies with changing, or temporary, requirements, to thrive and grow.

When this is complemented by access to on-site networking events and business support, all designed to help stimulate growth, the perfect environment for burgeoning businesses can be created, regardless of proximity to the city.

Wellbeing and Work/Life Balance

Wellbeing and work/life balance continue to be major drivers for businesses wanting to retain employees who, in line with generational trends, prioritise healthy living and employee experience over salary or status.

Here again, being based outside the city can prove a draw rather than a turn-off to businesses who are willing to look further afield.

Companies based at Bruntwood’s Booths Park in the Cheshire countryside, for instance, can offer employees the chance to enjoy amenities, including running trails, landscaped gardens, an external courtyard, on-site cricket club and acres of picturesque scenery.

Locality Counts

Setting and locality are playing an increasingly influential role in the serviced space sphere.

The lines between where we live and where we work are blurring and being able to offer a close-to-home workplace for employees is a big tick in the work/life balance box.

It also cuts down on travel time and doesn’t have to mean compromising on the proximity to shops and eateries that big city offices offer.

Take Wilderspool Park, near Warrington, for example, where companies can locate in a variety of serviced space, designed to their specific requirements, all located just a short walk from the popular village of Stockton Heath, with its broad array of independent retailers and restaurants.

The prospects have never been better for businesses looking beyond metropolitan boundaries to find a serviced space that meets their needs.

No longer the domain of the city, flexible, modern co-working space is likely to be coming to a town near you, soon.