IWG acquires Design Offices: What the largest flex-office transaction in Germany means for the market

TL;DR: IWG, the world’s largest flex-office operator, has fully acquired Design Offices. This brings 50 locations and around 260,000 m² of premium workspace in 15 German cities into the IWG portfolio. The deal closes a strategic gap in the large-corporate segment, positions IWG against emerging competitors such as Industrious, and marks a turning point in the German flex-office market. For existing customers, nothing will change in the short term – but in the medium term this deal could redefine pricing dynamics and the brand landscape across Germany’s flex-office sector.

The deal: IWG buys Design Offices

International Workplace Group (IWG), led by Mark Dixon – the world’s largest operator of flexible workspaces with more than 4,600 centres and over 1 million rooms across more than 120 countries – has fully acquired Design Offices in Germany.

Design Offices is one of the best-known and most strongly positioned flex-office operators in Germany. The company was founded in 2008 by Michael Schmutzer and is known for high-quality design, premium locations, and a clearly corporate-focused coworking concept. Under CEO Dr. Joachim Gripp, who took over management on 1 June 2020, Design Offices grew into one of the most prominent flex-office operators in Germany.

With 50 locations in 15 German cities, around 260,000 square metres of space and annual revenue of €142 million (2024, +4% year-on-year), Design Offices represents the most substantial acquisition in the history of the German flex-office market.

IWG itself is currently on a record trajectory: On 3 March 2026 – very recently – the company reported its results for the 2025 financial year. System-wide revenue rose to USD 4.5 billion (+4%), adjusted EBITDA reached USD 531 million (+6%), and operating cash flow before central functions increased by 60% to USD 162 million. For 2026, IWG forecasts adjusted EBITDA of USD 585–625 million – and in the medium term the company is targeting at least USD 1 billion in EBITDA.

The environment for a transaction of this scale could hardly be stronger.

It is one of the most significant transactions ever seen in the German coworking and flex-office sector.

Why this deal changes the logic of the market

For IWG, the acquisition closes a strategic gap: Germany is one of the largest office markets in Europe – yet within IWG’s portfolio it has so far been relatively underrepresented.

Design Offices immediately adds 50 established locations, a loyal client base of corporates and mid-sized companies, and an average occupancy rate of around 80%. This is not a turnaround case – it is a functioning, profitable portfolio.

Strategically, the acquisition fits perfectly with IWG’s ongoing transformation. The company is rapidly expanding its franchise and management partner model. In 2025 alone, recurring management fees increased by 140% to USD 45 million, and management and franchise locations already account for 33% of the portfolio – with a strong upward trend.

IWG is explicitly positioning itself as the Hilton or Marriott of the office world: capital-light, scalable and brand-driven.

And this is exactly where an acquisition like Design Offices fits: acquire local market leadership, optimize operations, and scale the platform.

For the German market, this sends a clear signal: the flex-office sector is consolidating. Following the restructuring of WeWork and the withdrawal of several smaller operators from the market, capital and volume are increasingly concentrating in a few well-capitalized platforms.

According to its own statements, IWG is already “larger than the next ten competitors combined” – and with Design Offices the company is now cementing that dominance in Germany as well.

For users and tenants, one key question remains:
Will Design Offices continue to exist as a brand – maintaining the design standards, service level and positioning that customers value? Or will the portfolio eventually be integrated into global IWG brands such as Regus or Spaces?

That question remains open. In previous acquisitions (for example The Office Operators in the Netherlands), IWG has sometimes maintained brands and in other cases merged them.

All Design Offices locations – now part of IWG

What the acquisition actually means – an assessment

1. Germany becomes a stronger strategic focus for IWG

Until now, the group has mainly been present in Germany through the brands Regus, Spaces, HQ and Signature. The portfolio was broad but had a structural weakness: most locations were too small to accommodate large corporate clients with several hundred workstations or to support long-term enterprise agreements. This is exactly where Design Offices comes in. The company has specialized early on in corporate clients, operates many locations with spaces between roughly 4,000 and 18,000 square metres, and serves numerous large companies – precisely the client group that IWG has so far only been able to address to a limited extent in Germany. With this acquisition, IWG can increasingly pursue larger corporate deals in Germany.

2. Attack as the best defense

Industrious, which has been majority-owned by the global real estate services firm CBRE since 2023 and therefore has significant financial backing, has begun expanding into Germany. The company already operates two locations in Berlin – in the Atrium Tower and BEAM – as well as another in the newly opened Global Tower in Frankfurt. Industrious represents high-quality managed-office concepts with a clear corporate focus – positioning itself exactly in the segment that Design Offices has historically occupied in Germany.

_{“Industrious is not a traditional coworking provider, but a well-capitalized, institutionally funded product specifically designed for corporate clients – exactly the customer segment that Design Offices has built in Germany. The fact that IWG is acting now, before Industrious can gain further market share, sends a clear strategic signal. In this case, attack is the best defense. Whoever controls the best locations and the largest spaces sets the benchmark for the market – and everyone else will be measured against it.” — Fabrizio Lauria, Founder von CoWorking Capital}

With this acquisition, IWG has moved before a rising competitor could capture additional territory – a classic strategic land-grabbing move in Germany’s premium workspace segment.

3. IWG is growing faster than the market – and doing so capital-light

According to the latest figures from March 2026, IWG signed 1,132 new centres in 2025 (+26%) and opened 782 (+25%). The franchise and management partner business is expanding rapidly: recurring management fees rose by 140% to USD 45 million. Once the current pipeline fully matures, IWG expects revenue potential of over USD 1.8 billion from this segment alone. Design Offices fits perfectly into this model: acquire an existing premium portfolio, integrate it into the IWG platform, and realise economies of scale.

4. For existing customers: contracts will likely continue unchanged

Existing rental agreements with Design Offices will most likely remain unchanged for the time being. The key question is what happens in the medium term with the brand, service level and pricing structures. Anyone currently searching for office space should keep an eye on how this develops.

5. Consolidation also creates opportunities

When a global corporation dominates large parts of the market, niches emerge for providers offering personal advice, flexibility and independence. Market complexity increases – and so does the need for neutral guidance.

_{“Consolidation in the German flex-office market has been underway for several years – but until now it has primarily affected smaller providers. The fact that an established quality operator like Design Offices is now being acquired sends a new signal to the market. IWG is closing a strategic gap: companies with large space requirements rarely found suitable options within the IWG portfolio in Germany, usually only through the Spaces brand. Design Offices, on the other hand, specialized early on in corporate clients and larger spaces. From a strategic perspective, this acquisition is therefore entirely logical.” — Fabrizio Lauria, Founder of CoWorking Capital}

6. The flex-office market is maturing – and the numbers prove it

Design Offices recently reported an occupancy rate of around 80% – remarkably stable in a market that fluctuated heavily after COVID. IWG is therefore not acquiring a distressed asset but an established, proven business model. IWG itself improved its adjusted gross margin at company-owned locations from 25% to 26%, with a medium-term target of 30%. This sends a strong signal about the structural demand for flexible office space in Germany.

7. Event spaces – the underestimated USP of Design Offices

Design Offices is not only known for offices and coworking. Nearly every location features high-quality event and conference spaces – from rooftop venues to inner courtyards and multi-level conference environments. This is not a side product but a central element of the concept. IWG, by contrast, currently has almost no comparable event infrastructure in Germany.

Conclusion

The acquisition of Design Offices by IWG marks a turning point in the German flex-office market.

Anyone searching today for flexible office space – whether a private office, coworking desk or an entire floor – is entering a market that is more professional, but also more concentrated than ever before.

We will continue to monitor developments closely, particularly regarding how the Design Offices brand, pricing structures and service offering evolve under the IWG umbrella.

Personally, I am happy for both IWG and Design Offices and curious to see how the market will develop in the coming months.

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