The coworking boom in Spain: key takeaways from the 2024 Coworking Summit

Our Spanish team recently attended the Coworking Summit 2024 in Alicante, organised by ProWorkSpaces. Spain’s largest gathering in the coworking sector this year brought together an impressive range of stakeholders – operators, users, investors, suppliers, architects, real estate experts and institutional representatives—to discuss the pressing issues and emerging trends in coworking and flexible workspace.

Key Takeaways from the Summit

The Summit covered a wide variety of topics that underscored the evolving nature of coworking in Spain. Here are some of the highlights:

– Wellbeing as a Design Priority: Both physical and mental health are taking centre stage in the design of coworking spaces, with a focus on creating environments that promote overall wellbeing.

– Beyond Shared Spaces: Coworking spaces are evolving into ecosystems that foster collaboration, creativity and business growth, redefining what it means to work in a shared environment.

– Service Diversification and Personalisation: Operators are responding to the needs of a changing client base, especially corporations, by diversifying and customising their services.

– Challenges for Smaller Spaces: Smaller coworking spaces are feeling competitive pressure from large new entrants and big landlords moving into the sector.

– Expansion Plans on the Rise: Most operators globally are planning to expand in the next year, with an impressive 91% of EMEA operators and 73% in the UK aiming for growth.

– Profitability and Technology: Achieving profitability remains a key concern, with consensus on the need to leverage new technologies to streamline operations and enhance user experiences.

Spain’s coworking sector aligns closely with global trends, with a particular emphasis on wellbeing, hybrid work model adaptation and a shift towards service-oriented solutions. Flexibility, especially in terms of workspace use and management, is highly valued by Spanish users, a trend evident across Europe.

The State of Coworking in Spain: Growth and Opportunity

Spain’s coworking market has seen tremendous growth in recent years, driven by the demand for flexible workspaces from both freelancers and companies adopting hybrid models. The demand for coworking spaces is projected to increase, with Madrid and Barcelona ranking as prominent coworking hubs in Europe.

According to JLL’s insights presented at the Summit, Spain currently hosts around 80 coworking operators across 262 spaces, covering roughly 5,100,000 sqm. This growing footprint signals a significant shift in work culture, as more companies prioritise flexibility and remote-friendly setups. Some notable statistics about coworking trends in Spain include:

– Market Growth: Spain’s coworking market is one of Europe’s fastest-growing, with demand expected to climb annually by 20% in the coming years.

– Top Customer Priorities: JLL’s report highlights location, flexibility, outsourced office management, pay-per-use models and plug-and-play setups as the top five features that attract Spanish coworking clients. 

– Corporate Shift: Around 30% of large corporations are now adopting flexible workspaces, attracted by the ease of scaling and adaptability coworking spaces offer. This trend is expected to continue, particularly as more firms shift to hybrid work models.

Touring Alicante’s Coworking Spaces

The second day of the Summit included tours of some of Alicante’s unique coworking spaces, showcasing first-hand the innovative approaches being implemented to meet the needs of a diverse clientele. Our team came away with fresh perspectives that we’ll be taking with us to Bulgaria in November, where we’re sponsoring the Coworking Europe 2024 event in Sofia.

As the coworking sector continues to grow and adapt, Shared Access remains committed to supporting flexible workspaces with robust, reliable mobile connectivity solutions. With connectivity as a backbone, coworking spaces can fully realise their potential as dynamic, flexible and tech-driven hubs for the modern workforce.