Reading: Boultbee/CBRE GI’s White Building to offer co-working through Work.Life
Boultbee Brooks Real Estate and CBRE Global Investors have signed Work.Life for what is claimed to be Reading town centre's first co-working offices at the White Building on King's Road. Work.Life is taking 8,670 sq ft on the ground floor of the building which has recently undergone a design-led, back-to-frame refurbishment.
Due to come in to operation by spring 2017, the space will offer hot desking and private offices for freelancers and bigger businesses and will encompass "sitting and standing desks, sound-proofed phone booths, collaborative spaces and quiet retreats, mood rooms, kitchen area, artisan coffee and fast, reliable wi-fi”. These facilities will be available on a rolling monthly membership basis or to hire by the hour.
The design of the work environment will be a "sleek, dynamic and inspiring blend of wood, steel, concrete and glass and will allow people to pick a place to work that supports how they feel”.
Tom Fletcher, head of LSH’s Reading office which acted for Boutlbee and CBRE GI, said: “The rise of co-working is a huge phenomenon. Government figures show there are more than 4.2m homeworkers in the UK and start-up hungry millennials are expected to make up 75% of the workforce by 2025.
"The proportion of tech enterprises is three times the national average in Reading. This is a magnet for growth and has helped the town account for 25% of all office take-up in the Thames Valley in 2016. Reading’s connectivity to London and Heathrow, its skilled labour pool and amenity offering make it a prime destination for anyone seeking to relocate out of London.”
James Whitcher of Boultbee Brooks said: “We set out to create the most differentiated and user-friendly office building in Reading with The White Building. Not only has that attracted Work.Life as a tenant, but the co-working space they are bringing is providing a huge draw for other occupiers – they can utilise the space themselves to further improve their employees’ working environment and allow them to feed off the creativity of others.”
LSH, RARE and Savills acted for Boultbee Brooks Real Estate and CBRE Global Investors.
