IWG opened its 18th store in 2019, its first in Asia, at Capitol Singapore.
Flexible office giant IWG is ramping up its operations in the Asia-Pacific region, with the parent company of Regus & Spaces recently announcing the hiring of a former senior WeWork executive based in Singapore.
Elizabeth Laws Fuller, previously the co-working pioneer’s Head of Growth for South East Asia and Head of Sales and Transaction Services for the Pacific Region, is Country Head of Singapore and Regional Head of Growth covering the South. Joined the IWG as the person in charge. She is from South East Asia as well as South Korea.
“I am excited to join the IWG at this pivotal time. Companies of all sizes are permanently adopting this model, and with the rise of hybrid working solutions, we are seeing a wealth of opportunities in Singapore and across the Asia Pacific region. This is because of the tremendous opportunities it presents,” Rouse Fuller said in a statement. “My role will focus on leveraging these emerging trends to open new business avenues and expand IWG’s reach in the region through strategic partnerships.”
After signing up approximately 900 new locations globally last year and 163 in Asia Pacific, IWG will expand its regional footprint over the next three years under the Regus, Space, Signature, HQ and No.18 brands. We are preparing to launch 1,000 new centers across the board.
Heartland and beyond
Integral to IWG’s expansion plans is to expand its network into decentralized areas of Singapore, in addition to second and third tier cities in other regional markets such as Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.
Elizabeth Laws Fuller has plans for Singapore and more (Image: IWG)
Of IWG’s 24 Singapore locations, 10 are Regus and Space centers across distributed office hubs such as Harbourfront, Paya Lebar and Tampines. The group now plans to expand its footprint further into the heart of the city-state.
“That doesn’t mean we don’t go to town. That’s the whole point,” Rouse Fuller told Minty Andy. “People may work in the city center some days and closer to home on other days. It’s important to have that coverage to cover all of your clients’ day-to-day business needs.”
The expansion plan is in line with IWG’s partnership model, in which the company works with landlords to operate flexible office centers within their properties, allowing investors seeking to establish a franchise to seek an alternative to traditional leasing. The aim is to help businesses open new flexible office locations to serve their businesses. And trying to avoid construction costs.
Southeast Asia’s potential
IWG, which has established 4,000 centers around the world, says it aims to grow in secondary and tertiary cities across Asia, including establishing national networks in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.
“We have 25 to 30 target cities in Indonesia that we are approaching strategically this year,” Rouse Fuller said. “Currently, we only have one center in Surabaya. We aim to sign at least 25 new centers in Indonesia next year.” He added that the island was also targeted.
Rose Fuller spent nearly four years at WeWork in Singapore, has also previously worked at investment intelligence firms 13D Research & Strategy and CBRE, and was an independent real estate and strategy consultant from 2012 to 2019.