Bruntwood has unveiled its first dedicated co-working facility in Liverpool at the Cotton Exchange.
Co-working is a practice that has become popular in the United States in recent years and involves a cluster of small or start-up business owners occupying a shared office space and other communal facilities.
The new area is situated on the sixth floor of the Bixteth Street building, known as The Loft, and is designed to appeal to entrepreneurs with a highly flexible need for office space in the heart of the commercial district.
At full capacity, the first phase will see up to eight different businesses working alongside each other in the same space, while Bruntwood hopes to eventually double the scheme to occupy two areas of The Loft.
Rates start at just £30 a week, including super-fast wifi and unlimited coffee, as well as a shared kitchen, breakout areas and use of the building’s wider amenities including its roof garden and The Old Hall event space.
Bruntwood has successfully implemented a co-working scheme, Together, at Manchester’s 127 Portland Street and has recently expanded the space there to meet the demand for collaborative workspace. Elements of that scheme are likely to be mirrored at the Cotton Exchange.
Colin Sinclair, director of property marketing at Bruntwood, said:
“Co-working captures the spirit of entrepreneurial collaboration and growth as it allows businesses to explore their potential and develop side-by-side with peers while enjoying benefits they could never get at home or in a coffee shop.
“The majority of great businesses are built upon similar foundations – the right environment, a focussed team, forward energy and a strong local network. Our new co-working space provides an eco-system for all of those elements to flourish.
“For most businesses, it’s an opportunity to test the water and get a feel for their own needs. While many successful co-workers enjoy a sense of community with their peers, others prefer to cohabit without collusion and that freedom to choose reflects the essential beauty of co-working.
“We expect our new space to be especially popular with digital nomads and creative wanderers, but professionals from all backgrounds are welcome.”
One of the first occupiers is Rebecca Keegan, owner and editor of Seen Liverpool magazine and who is about to launch a new publication in the city, said:
“The nature of our business means we have a fluctuating need for office space depending on our publishing schedule, so co-working is an ideal solution for us in a really central location.
“There are two of us here semi-permanently, while others join up with the team as and when, so it’s great to have that flexibility with minimal overheads. It’s also an opportunity for us to mix with like-minded businesses and explore new ways of collaborating.”