IWG stockpiles coffee and furniture ahead of Brexit
IWG is gearing up for any impact from Brexit by stockpiling assets including coffee and furniture.
The serviced office company’s chief executive, Mark Dixon, said IWG has leased new warehouse space in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, ahead of the UK’s planned departure from the European Union on 31 October.
Dixon told EG: “We have had to stockpile things like coffee. We have enough for a month. We’ve just enlarged our warehouse space, so the space has gone up incredibly. It now includes furniture as well. You have to plan ahead. We’ve gone through at least three warehouses already.”
IWG is gearing up for any impact from Brexit by stockpiling assets including coffee and furniture.
The serviced office company’s chief executive, Mark Dixon, said IWG has leased new warehouse space in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, ahead of the UK’s planned departure from the European Union on 31 October.
Dixon told EG: “We have had to stockpile things like coffee. We have enough for a month. We’ve just enlarged our warehouse space, so the space has gone up incredibly. It now includes furniture as well. You have to plan ahead. We’ve gone through at least three warehouses already.”
Dixon added: “When my team here said, ‘We’ve prepared for Brexit’, I said, ‘What do you mean? It’s not going to affect property is it?’ And they said, ‘Yes, it will affect all the supplies, things like paper, toilet rolls, really boring stuff’.”
IWG runs more than 3,300 locations globally. The company has around 320 centres across the UK, split between six brands: Regus, Spaces, HQ, Signature by Regus, No18, and Basepoint.
Dixon said the firm was increasing its stockpiling efforts in order to continue expanding. “We can’t have interruption or we can’t open centres. You have to plan ahead. It is disappointing to have such a distraction from the everyday business of the country – it is absorbing a lot of energy.”
UK-based firms like IWG are stockpiling amid rising Brexit uncertainty, with Boris Johnson having said he is prepared for the UK to leave the European Union without a deal if necessary, despite being ordered by parliament to seek a delay if he cannot negotiate acceptable terms.
The UK Warehousing Association (UKWA), whose 750 members have more than 7.5m sq metres (80m sq ft) of space nationwide, said last month that all of its members had received Brexit-induced enquiries since April, although these enquiries had been fewer than in the run-up to the original March 31 deadline. Members’ ability to handle requests for additional space has dropped by 40% since April, according to the firm’s latest Brexit poll published in September.
UKWA chief executive Peter Ward said: “The 31 October deadline couldn’t have come at a worse time, clashing with peak season in logistics in the run-up to Christmas, including Black Friday and Cyber Monday. In previous years, these peaks have become increasingly challenging, with rising labour and skills shortages in our industry. This year is likely to be exponentially more difficult, as members contend with not only shortage of warehouse space, but the ‘Brexodus’ effect of EU workers going home or heading to other EU markets.”
To send feedback, e-mail anna.ward@egi.co.uk or tweet @annaroxelana or @estatesgazette
