After just over a year since launching in the UK, Peerspace, the leading marketplace for hourly venue hires for meetings, productions, and events, is reporting that London is its fastest growing new market since it launched last September. With recent reports suggesting that as much as a fifth of office space in London and South-East England may not be required in today’s world of work, homeowners and venue owners are seeking to make extra cash to battle the cost of living crisis by harnessing new opportunities created by hybrid working in the capital.

Peerspace, who work with large employers across their global offering, report that:

· Growth in London has so far outstripped any of the 30+ cities in which the company operates, including US and Canadian metros
· Workers are opting for colourful, creative spaces with some of the most popular spaces for meetings in the Big Smoke including a double height workshop room in north London, and stylish open meeting space in central London, which have seen some of the highest value bookings
· Users searching for spaces to host an offsite has been steadily rising, jumping over 500% from May to September this year
· And with the average cost of heating a London home rising, workers are looking for flexible, cost-effective ways to continue the hybrid working lifestyle

“The last few years have fundamentally changed the way we work,” said Emily North, UK Manager of Peerspace. “With more companies moving to a hybrid work model based on employee feedback, the need for equally flexible spaces that enable teams to meet in person and fuel creativity is rising. Affordability is important to most guests, but teams are also looking for unique spaces, like retro apartments, unused meeting spaces that can be hired by the hour offer the perfect option with no long-term office commitments.”

Seen as a one to watch by investors including Google Ventures, Foundation Capital, Structure Capital, Carthona Capital, and 31VENTURES – the marketplace was founded in San Francisco, and is expanding outside the US where it operates in 30 metropolitan locations–to include Paris, Canada (Toronto and Vancouver) and recently Sydney and Melbourne.