One of the largest co-working facilities in the Midlands has opened its doors in Birmingham city centre.
The ground floor of the Mailbox complex has been converted from its previous retail use to a new 50,000 sq ft flexible workspace facility to be operated by IWG under its 'Spaces' brand.
The company has signed a ten-year management contract to run the hub which has co-working and hotdesking facilities alongside flexible offices to rent.
The project was first announced in late 2020 and signalled a shift in use for the boutique shopping mall known for its bars and restaurants, high-end fashion brands and Harvey Nichols department store.
The ground floor space was previously revamped to create a destination for retailers of homeware and furniture following a major £50 million refit of the entire building which was completed in 2016.
Mailbox REIT, the entity which owns the building, is now a listed asset on the new IPSX stock exchange which was set up to trade shares in companies which own single property assets.
Among its shareholders is M7 Real Estate, which also carries out the day-to-day management of the centre, while former BBC Dragons' Den star James Caan was an early investor.
The launch of Spaces in the Mailbox comes just days after London-based operator x+why opened its first venue outside the capital on the Brindleyplace estate while earlier this month Derby-based Cubo started welcoming customers into its first West Midlands hub in Two Chamberlain Square.
They will join established players such as Regus, WeWork and many others both in the core business area as well as city districts such as Digbeth and Jewellery Quarter alongside the wider suburbs.
IWG founder and chief executive Mark Dixon said: "For several decades, we have been at the forefront of hybrid work, empowering people to work more productively and conveniently.
"We are continuing to bring the Spaces concept to more locations as we scale our network both in the UK and globally to meet the growing demand for hybrid work solutions.
"We are delighted to be partnering with the Mailbox to serve the needs of the thriving local business community.
"Introducing workspaces into retail centres helps revitalise spaces, generates economic activity and creates better solutions which support hybrid working."
Ruth Miley, M7 Real Estate's senior asset manager for Mailbox REIT, added: "We're thrilled to welcome Spaces to Mailbox.
"They are the perfect fit for us and our strategy to reposition the Mailbox as a premium office-led, mixed-use scheme.
"When we acquired the asset in December 2019, there was 200,000 sq ft of office headquarter accommodation already onsite, with blue-chip occupiers such as the BBC, WSP and Advanced Software Solutions.
"The ground floor comprised 36,000 sq ft of under-utilised retail mall space that performed poorly. We made the decision to convert this space into a single floor plate of open plan co-working space.
"This is a true example of how we can reposition and repurpose a place for the future and achieve our vision for Mailbox to be the first-choice destination to live, work and play in Birmingham.
"This commitment by IWG further strengthens our offering and we are confident Spaces will appeal to our existing community as well as attracting new organisations and individuals."
