The Instant Group has evolved in many ways since we were founded in 1999. Over the last few years in particular, our business has transformed quickly.
Our vision has always been clear: staying ahead of client needs and driving demand for operators. But we haven’t always spelled it out. So, let’s be clear: We’re on a mission to power a smarter working world for everyone. That means closing the gap in hybrid, agile, and flexible workspace—and helping operators capture more demand, boost revenue, and grow.
In this article, we reflect on our roots and milestones and recent feedback from our operator partners. Here’s a look at what’s happening at The Instant Group and why we want operators on this journey with us.
Let’s start from the beginning: An abridged history of The Instant Group
Instant Offices was founded in London in 1999 as the first flexible workspace brokerage for operators. Shortly after, we began offering flexible portfolio management for our occupier clients. “Flex” was still niche and nascent, but we saw an opportunity to anchor it into the wider commercial real estate office industry. By 2013, we had forged our path as experts in flex, began offering unparalleled market data and insights, and two years later, we expanded our operations globally to APAC, EMEA, and the Americas. By that time, we launched The Instant Group, solidifying our flex services to both operators and corporate occupiers under a single organization of real estate and delivery experts.
Our recent mergers and acquisitions
In 2022, we merged with IWG’s digital assets and in that same year, we acquired Coworker.com and Davinci Virtual Offices to expand our constellation of demand-generating websites. With our proven expertise in lead generation, global reach, and deep sector knowledge, we embraced a challenge: not just to drive demand for flex but to shape its future. Through our strategic mergers and backing, we are uniquely positioned to both drive flex demand and enable partners to offer the right supply to match today's dynamic workplace needs across flexible, agile, and hybrid formats.
We kept expanding—acquiring Swedish platform yta.se, Upsuite, and OfficeSpace.com—while strengthening our consultancy practice through Incendium Consulting and Capstan Advisors. These moves reinforced our ability to serve the entire workspace ecosystem, from operators and occupiers to landlords and investors.
Bridging supply and demand
We’ve built our business on two key pillars: offering occupier clients the most comprehensive range of flexible workspace options and partnering with operators to drive demand and revenue growth. In 2024 alone, The Instant Group facilitated nearly £110m in gross transaction fees for operators globally ($138m / €129m), spanning 4,433 deals and approximately 2.7 million sq. ft. of flexible office space.
Our team of flex space experts collaborates closely with operators to deeply understand their business, inventory, and ideal clientele. At the same time, we work hand-in-hand with clients to match them with workspaces that perfectly meet their needs. This combination of market expertise, global reach, sales excellence, and a commitment to sustainability has positioned us as trusted leaders in flexible workspaces—empowering the world’s largest corporate occupiers to thrive. We have come to Instant for their workspace needs, large and small. We’ve fulfilled large global transactions for household names such as BP, CitiGroup, GSK, Red Hat, Zscaler, and Warner Bros Discovery, to name a few. But large corporations such as Booking.com, Alibaba, Salesforce, Doordash, Iberdrola, Juniper Networks, and more have also come to us for their workspace requirements of all sizes.
Market leaders. Market enablers.
The office industry is constantly evolving, and flexible workspaces are taking center stage. What was once a rigid, siloed sector is transforming into a dynamic, user-driven ecosystem—empowering employees and employers to work where it makes the most sense. Yet, challenges like choice and transparency remain.
We’re here to change that. Our marketplace democratizes workspace by giving occupiers the flexibility to support hybrid work while helping operators unlock revenue across all product types and sizes. While traditional brokers still have a role to play, digital platforms and marketplaces are shaping the future of this industry.
In conversations over the last year, operator partners have titled us as “the” leader in the space with the potential to define the market and potentially drive the broker community to make necessary changes such as fee transparency, sector-specific technology, support for smaller operators and making the industry more accessible to clients.
Our new platform is designed to power hybrid working across the workspace ecosystem while driving unmatched demand for operators who list with us. In 2024, over 15% of our leads were for six to 19-desk spaces—a sweet spot for keeping private offices full. Three to five-desk inquiries made up 17% of our leads, while one and two desk requests accounted for over half. Capturing these leads is easy, but converting them into revenue for operators has been the real challenge—one we’re tackling head-on.
Our operator partners have pushed us to prioritize quality over quantity and focus on solving client needs. In response, we’re evolving our sales approach globally. We’re dedicating more resources to converting one and two-desk inquiries for better results, driving revenue across all demand sizes. Plus, our new, re-platformed technology automates the book-and-pay of short-stay workspaces like meeting rooms, day passes, and event space to deliver efficiency at scale.
A new chapter is here at The Instant Group. We’re as committed as ever to building a smarter working world—one that’s about more than just workspace. It’s about people, technology, and sustainability. And we’re excited to have you join us on this journey.
There’s so much more ahead, but let’s start with this: if you’re not listing your workspaces on the new Partner Portal, what are you waiting for? Get started today.
Speak with someone on our team today to learn more about how our terms and conditions have changed. New conditions will go into effect on March 1st, 2025.
