Blog

Proving what belonging is worth: coworking community metrics

Every coworking brand says it sells community. Very few can tell you what that community is actually worth, or how to measure coworking community metrics. Beyond the RSVP, a panel chaired by Tilley Harris of Akou, set out to close that gap. The discussion was refreshingly honest about the fact that the flex space sector […]

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GCUC UK Manchester 2026 Recap

Manchester has a habit of making the case for itself. This year GCUC UK came to Campfield, the old air and space museum that Allied London has turned into a working media campus in the heart of St John’s, and spent the day doing something the coworking industry rarely does: putting the voice of the […]

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Integrity in the Dragons’ Den: The VOA at FlexSA

Business rates. My personal kryptonite. In my previous role on the operator side, I didn’t hand it off so much as stay way clear of it, if I’m honest. The finance and ops teams were far smarter than me, far better geared up for it. The only reason I paid any attention at all was […]

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The right room: GCUC Manchester comes to Department Campfield

When we were thinking about where to bring GCUC UK Manchester this year, the question wasn’t just about square footage or AV specs. It was about the right room. Set inside two restored Victorian market halls in Manchester’s St. John’s neighbourhood, Department Campfield is a 135,000 sq ft tech and creative campus operated by Department, […]

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Outside London: where UK coworking actually lives

CoworkingCafe’s latest UK & Ireland Quarterly Coworking Report is out, and the headline numbers tell a story anyone working in regional flex space already knew: Manchester is leading the pack outside the M25. The UK now has 4,270 coworking spaces. Greater London accounts for 1,209 of them, close to 30 percent of the total. That […]

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Meet our MC for GCUC UK Manchester: James Panepinto

James Panepinto is a coworking operator and FLOC UK lead. Sharp, straight-talking, and deeply invested in where this industry is going, he has spent years on the operational floor, and is one of the loudest voices pushing coworking to take its own talent seriously. This June, he’s bringing that energy to GCUC UK Manchester as […]

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How to De-Risk Flex Space: what we learned at Brave Ideas x GCUC UK

“Talk about the divorce and the marriage at the same time.” RUPERT DEAN, FOUNDER & CEO, X+WHY   Rupert Dean’s line was the most quoted of the morning, and probably the whole point of the event. On Thursday, GCUC UK partnered with Brave Ideas to host How to De-Risk Flex Space, a breakfast event at […]

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Regional coworking in the UK: what it actually takes

The case for regional coworking in the UK does not need making anymore. Manchester alone has 1.4 million square feet of flexible workspace and is still growing, and operators who have been London-focused are starting to look north and west with genuine intent. What is less settled is what regional expansion actually requires. The assumption, […]

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Why the flex industry needs more fun

As the industry has matured, some of the language around coworking events has become more serious. That makes sense up to a point. The market is tougher than it was a few years ago, expectations are higher, and there is much less patience now for anything that feels inflated or slightly detached from reality. What […]

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