Chair’s Report to the AGM

At the Flexible Space Association’s Annual General Meeting yesterday, the Chair of the Board, Andrea Kolokasi, gave her report on the past year:

Our AGM reports on our year from 1 September 2023 to 31 August 2024, so my report seeks to highlight the Flexible Space Association’s key activities during that period. 

Membership

Membership numbers have continued to grow throughout the year, and our Workspace Operator members collectively run in the region of 1,150 workspace locations across the UK. 

Having intended to run only last year, we extended our offer of 6 months’ free membership for workspace operators who were not members, due to its success in bringing on board new members of all sizes. 

We ended our last financial year with 41 Service Provider Members, providing a broad range of goods and services to the industry.  They range in size from sole traders to a multinational company with some 15,000 employees. 

Business Rates

The Flexible Space Association has continued to work hard behind the scenes on the challenges surrounding how serviced offices are assessed for business rates.  A significant amount of work has gone into this, which has made a positive difference for the sector in challenging circumstances. 

We commissioned updates from a solicitor on behalf of our members to our licence agreement template, to meet the VOA’s new requirements, and have provided guidance relating to this. 

Industry Promotion

Part of the Association’s remit is to speak on behalf of our industry, and Jane Sartin has taken many opportunities to promote flexible workspace.  She has spoken at conferences and events, been interviewed for articles and podcasts, acted as a judge for industry awards and written for publications. 

On our website, a new section was created to highlight all the companies which are members of the Association, alongside the directories which allow people to find workspace and services. 

Our social media reach, particularly via LinkedIn, has grown considerably over the past year, supporting promotion of our sector as well as sharing information with it. 

Board Elections

It has been good to see an increased interest in participating in our Board, with elections attracting a number of candidates for both Directors and the representative of our Service Provider Members.

Events

It has been a very busy year for events, with an impressive number run by the small FlexSA team. 

Our Gala Dinner returned to The Landmark in London, with nearly 300 people coming together last November to celebrate the successes of 2023.  With a record number of entries for our awards, it provided a challenging task for our judging panel to decide on the finalists, and the winners were announced at the Gala Dinner. 

Our annual Conference and Exhibition took place on 14^th May 2024, at a new venue for us in London.   The feedback was very positive, and the diverse programme ensured there was something for everyone.  We had a panel discussion involving representatives from some of the largest companies in our industry, and another on the competitive advantages for smaller operators.  We welcomed Dougal Shaw from the BBC’s business team to the stage, giving us an outsider’s perspective of flexible workspace.  Other topics covered included ESG, AI and how our industry can support enforcement activities by the police, trading standards and HMRC. 

It was good to have one of our Board Members, Michael Millard from IWG, as co-host, alongside Suzanne Murdock from The Hub Newry, again demonstrating representation of different sizes of businesses within our membership. 

FlexSA held an impressive 15 Roundtable Meetings and Workspace Tours in cities across the UK, bringing together people working at our member companies to make new connections and expand their knowledge of the sector. 

We also continued to hold Virtual Roundtables, with 16 meetings taking place online through the year to enable Workspace Operators to come together regularly for an update on FlexSA’s activities, and to talk to each other about how things are going and seek support on specific issues.   Attendees often say it’s reassuring to hear that they’re not alone in facing challenges, or quieter periods. 

FlexSA hosted 8 Workspace Wisdom Webinars during the year, with guests presenting on a variety of topics to support the running of flexible workspace.  These ranged from managing energy costs to designing workspace for neurodiversity. 

There were 3 Women in Flex events held in partnership with technologywithin, including one online to expand its reach.  We also held 2 roundtable events with Cleanology, bringing together FlexSA members to learn about and discuss the National Living Wage and CSR activities.  We also partnered with Wavenet Connected for a dinner to discuss cyber security.       

Virtual Office Forum

The work of the Virtual Office Forum has continued, and my thanks to Peter Radcliffe of Office Front for his chairmanship of this, and to Stephen Yates of Argyll who has taken up the role of Vice-Chair.  The VOF met four times over the year, twice in person and twice virtually, and was invaluable in bringing together our industry and representatives from HMRC, Companies House, Trading Standards, the Police and other enforcement agencies to ensure our industry is aware of its responsibilities, and I know that they are appreciative of the support we give to their work.