With the acquisition of Welkin & Meraki by flexible workplace company Industrious, an expansion is very much on the cars and that could see the return of the Luxembourg offices. Photo: © LaLa La Photo, Keven Erickson, Krystyna Dul

With the acquisition of Welkin & Meraki by flexible workplace company Industrious, an expansion is very much on the cars and that could see the return of the Luxembourg offices. Photo: © LaLa La Photo, Keven Erickson, Krystyna Dul

Co-working space operator Welkin & Meraki’s Luxembourg offices are expected to reopen in 2023, according to CEO Alain Brossé, after its branch in the grand duchy closed during the pandemic.

The company had previously failed to reach an agreement with the owner of the building it rented in Luxembourg City, despite the space having been almost at capacity and posting a 32% growth in revenues during the pandemic, said Brossé, who founded Welkin & Meraki.

This resulted in the office’s closure. The increase in revenues was below projections which would’ve seen the company raise enough money to pay the second part of rent guarantees.

“We asked for help from our landlord partners by asking them for half rents or three months free rent and then adding on the end of the contract a three months’ longer term, which actually everybody did worldwide,” Brossé told Delano.

The acquisition of Welkin & Meraki by US-based flexible workplace company Industrious could see the return of the Luxembourg offices. The company plans to add nine locations this year and 20 more in 2023, one of which could very likely be Luxembourg. Further destinations are in planning.

“We’re going to screen the market the next coming months,” said Brossé, adding: “I foresee an opening during 2023 in Luxembourg.”

In addition to Welkin & Meraki, Industrious also acquired The Great Room, a co-working space group in Asia, adding a total of 35,500m2 of office space to its portfolio.

Welkin & Meraki provides premium co-working spaces, often to law firms, multinational companies or banks, for which there is a market in Luxembourg. And although the pandemic has seen both employers and employees look at working from home more positively, Brossé believes that the lessons learned from the health crisis will play in favour of co-working spaces.

He argues that companies will find value in allowing their employees to work from locations that can better stimulate creativity and that provide better amenities such as a gym, a restaurant, a lounge, a napping room or simply a better location.

“I think home-working is actually not the full change that has happened. What has happened is that companies allowed their employees to work a number of days not in the office. […] So it’s not only home-working, it’s also working away from the office.”