General Projects launches flexible office operator

General Projects is launching a flexible office operator that will focus on creating workspaces in outer London neighbourhoods. The operator, General People, will start with 117,000 sq ft of space in the Expressway building in Royal Docks, E16. [caption id="attachment_1111230" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Expressway’s Dockside entrance[/caption] Three more sites are in the pipeline. These include a 45,000 sq ft co-working space at Sierra Quebec Bravo in Canary Wharf, E14, previously known as South Quay Building, and a 190,000 sq ft redevelopment of the Florentia Clothing Village in Haringey, N4. General People will also run General Projects’ refurbishment of Walworth Town Hall, a Grade II-listed Victorian municipal building near Elephant and Castle, SE17, which was ravaged by a fire in 2013. Jacob Loftus, who founded General Projects in 2016, said the flex company could eventually run as many as 20 sites over the next 10 years. However, he added: “This is certainly not about building the world’s biggest operating business.” [gallery size="medium" ids="1111231,1111232,1111240"] Instead, General People will focus on three different types of flexible workspace: local innovation hubs for office-based and light-industrial businesses; traditional central business district-orientated co-working spaces; and a model focused on creative and culture sector occupiers. “There is unquestionably a major gap in the flex sector, as mainstream operators have pivoted to offer large chunks of space to corporates to secure revenues; thereby leaving young, localised, steady growth businesses priced out,” Loftus said. [caption id="attachment_1111243" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Florentia Clothing Village in Haringey[/caption] “General People will provide space for these occupiers, with three distinct typologies, helping the next generation of businesses that will drive the new economy to grow and thrive, while giving landlords a commercial solution to buildings in need of reinvention.” Loftus has appointed Jacob Sandelson, a senior director at General Projects, as General People’s chief executive. Sandelson said the operator would be committed “to generating social value in the communities in which we operate”. “General People will be a different kind of flexible workspace operator – focused on long-term curation and stewardship of business hubs that give back to their communities,” he added. It comes as a growing crowd of smaller flexible office companies target a more neighbourhood-centric model. Last month, Spacemade launched two new workspaces in Wimbledon and Cricklewood, while IWG, the world’s biggest flex operator, announced a pivot to a more regionalised office model earlier this year. To send feedback, e-mail alex.daniel@eg.co.uk or tweet @alexmdaniel or @EGPropertyNews Photos: Tian Khee Siong/Peter Landers/Darc Studio