1.1 Definition and scope of the study

Coworking is a style of working that involves sharing a work environment, usually an office, while maintaining an independent business. Unlike the typical office environment, coworkers are not usually employed in the same organization

The first Italian coworking spaces were opened just over a decade ago, following the example of the United States, which opened the first coworking spaces in 2005. Today, in Italy, there are about 700 coworking spaces, well distributed in the main Italian cities. They are more present in the North of Italy, with 472 coworking spaces, especially in the Lombardy region, with Milan having 121 spaces. In 2020, in Italy, 50 more coworking spaces have been opened

These places not only welcome freelancers but also start-ups, entire sectors of a company, or workgroups. Moreover, it is possible to "rent" a meeting room for the morning or just for an hour, without having to think about tidying it up or cleaning it. With the pandemic, the concept of work has been rethought. Employees are becoming accustomed to working in places other than the traditional office. Companies are encouraging this evolution with the popularisation of telecommuting, and coworking is a promising trend for the future.

1.2 The global market

The global co-working market is growing at an exponential rate; between **** and ****, the number of people in co-working spaces is expected to increase at a CAGR of **.**% per year to reach nearly *.* million by ****. Several factors are contributing to the rise of shared office spaces: the relaxed environment, often different from ...

1.3 A Growing Italian Market

Nowadays, coworking spaces are considered as valid alternatives to traditional offices in Italy. Nonetheless, this was not always the case as, in ****, there were only ** registered coworking spaces in this country.

This market has indeed been characterized by an impressive growth as the number of open coworking spaces has increased by ...

1.4 COVID-19 Impact

Flexible offices, temporary offices, coliving and coworking, what we call Shared Workspaces, like so many businesses across the country have been heavily impacted by the restrictions imposed to deal with the pandemic. At the beginning of the **** health emergency, the sector was in a strong phase of expansion, after years of ...

2.1 Demand Characteristics

The Industrial Revolution (***) and the features of different workforce generations as well as other issues, related to the technological progress and to the constant need of reducing business expenses, have encouraged new working modes, such as ‘teleworking’, ‘hot desking’ and ‘smart working’. All these changes have led to an increasing demand ...

2.2 Demand Drivers

The main drivers for the demand of coworking spaces in Italy are and have been in the past [***]:

Increasing amount of professionals and freelancers;

Considering the fact that the number of freelancers and professionals in Italy is an important determinant of demand for coworking spaces. If we want to read the ...

2.3 Who are the consumers of coworking spaces?

In its study of the global and Italian coworking world, ISTAT, identified the main consumers of coworking spaces as of **** in:

Freeleancers (***) Employees (***) Entrepreneurs with employees (***)

Who are the consumers of coworking spaces? World and Italy, ****, in % Source: ****

2.4 Italian Cities with the Most Coworking Spaces

The two Italian cities with the highest number of open coworking spaces are Milan and Rome, with *** and ** structures respectively. The large distance between the two numbers, however, is one more time an indicator of the larger popularity of coworkings in the north of the country, especially in Lombardy, with respect ...

3.1 Market Structure

The Italian way to coworking is characterized by very different realities, made of spaces of less than ***sqm and large investments in structures of more than ****sqm, of independent operators, of large companies with a million-dollar turnover, of associative initiatives and collateral experiences (***). There are several, different models that also differ ...

3.2 Value Chain

The value chain of the coworking market is exemplified below.

3.3 Geographical Distribution

As explained previously, the majority of coworking spaces operate in Northern Italy (***), in particular in the Northwest. Compared to the ****, +** spaces were opened, but the growth is significant only in Lombardy. This is where the model of the shared space has become more established in the country and where it shows ...

3.4 Main Players

The coworking market has lately been led by coworking networks, that focus on the creation of a dynamic and innovative workplace for different consumer types.

The main ones in Italy include networks such as Cowo, Copernico, Talent Garden, Impact Hub, and many others.

Cowo is a network of independent coworking spaces ...

3.5 The Market Leader: the International Workplace Group

International Workplace Group is the leader in Italy and worldwide in the field of flexible workspaces. It is present on the national territory with the brands Regus, Spaces and Signature, and has now announced the entry of Copernico in its portfolio, bringing to ** the number of its centers in Italy, for ...

4.1 Overview of the Offer

Coworkings offer a simple and accessible solution. For example, to all those professionals or companies that, carrying out their work in a flexible way, do not have a stable location or, if large enough to accommodate more people in case of meetings and conferences. But also to all those emerging professionals ...

4.2 Price Analysis

Coworking spaces offer a variety of services and facilities, which vary in costs and prices. One of the most important price determinants is the location of a coworking: a coworking in the North of Italy or in a larger city is likely to be more expensive than another facility in the ...

4.3 Innovation and trends of the offer

Innovation

An innovation frontier, Fablabs and Coliving are the less traditional shared work spaces. The Fablab (***) is the evolution of the workshop in a digital key. In fact, these spaces offer the use of equipment and personalized digital fabrication services, training and collaboration paths. Places for the first prototyping or low-cost ...

5.1 Coworking contract: what services it offers and who can enter into it

With the coworking contract, the grantor makes available an equipped work space to a user, who can thus take advantage of a comfortable and functional environment in which to carry out his professional activity.

The coworking contract is atypical, for consideration (***), contains elements of the lease, i.e., rent, and elements ...

5.2 What do You Need to Open a Coworking in Italy

Coworking spaces have to comply with two main rules:

The first concerns the use of the premises, which must be used for office purposes. The second concerns compliance with the normal safety regulations (***)

The opening of a coworking space requires a simple application to the police headquarters, marked by silence of ...

5.3 Costs and funding to open a coworking space

The budget for setting up a coworking space is rather large. This is mainly due to the initial costs of renting or buying the building, plus the costs of facilities and equipment, furniture and utilities.

As an initial figure, you have to consider at least ** thousand euros. Alternatively, a good idea ...