Markets
CBRE launches into flexible office sector
The world’s largest commercial real estate firm is launching Hana, a new service offering to help property owners meet the demand for flexible office space.
Hana will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBRE beginning in 2019, and will provide another option, other than WeWork, for corporates wanting to tap into the growing market.
Head of strategic advisory at CBRE, Amanda Clack tweeted: “Flexibility in office space is a key commercial real estate demand now and for the future which is why we’ve designed Hana to give our clients what they need.”
Joint ventures over leasing
The service will offer 3 solutions: Hana Team, Hana Meet and Hana Share. Hana Team will provide private customisable office suites to meet the needs of organisations with 15 to over 300 employees.
Hana Meet will offer conference and event room space that can be rented on an hourly, daily or weekly basis. Hana Share will offer shared desks and coworking environments ideal for small teams and freelancers.
The reason CBRE has called the new service Hana is because the name has multiple meanings in different languages, which reflect today’s workspace desires: work in Hawaiian, hope in Kurdish, flower in Japanese, happiness in Arabic and one in Korean.
Rather than lease office spaces from landlords, Hana will partner with them through joint ventures and take financial shares of each facility.
Bob Sulentic, president and CEO of CBRE believes: “The way space is being used is evolving rapidly. Companies want the flexibility to adjust their occupancy to meet changing business needs and a better workplace experience to attract and retain top talent. Hana is perfectly suited to meet these needs. Reflecting this, we have already generated significant interest from building owners who are looking for a trusted partner to help deliver flexible space offerings and have a robust deal pipeline.”
The team behind Hana will be led by ex-Zipcar, a car sharing company, Andrew Kupiec and Scott Marshall, who previously led CBRE’s investor leasing service.
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