MORNING NEWS: Why flex company Industrious is dreaming of Disney

Good morning, and welcome to your Friday round-up of news, views and interviews from EG, as well as some stories from the nationals. With the flex industry in flux, co-working office operators are trying to work out what the future will look like for workplaces and the businesses running them. At Industrious, the inspiration might seem unlikely – Disneyland. This week’s big interview is with founder Jamie Hodari and new European managing director Tom Redmayne. Hodari wants the company to do for workspace what Disney has done for theme parks. “You go to Disney and in certain ways it is a giant global mega-corporation for whom any individual visitor is a blip compared with a local amusement park and yet it has cracked the code to make every family feel a part of it,” he says. “The ambition is to get to a place where we can say we’ve done this enough and we’ve done it with enough heart and intent and conviction about trying to be the expert in how to deliver a great day at work that we are able to do it for any customer in any location and they get the best of both worlds. They get a highly individualised experience that feels personal to them that is in part powered by many years of trying to refine that exact experience.” There are moves and promotions at companies including M7, Avison Young, and Mitsui Fudosan. And in this morning’s listed real estate news, Home REIT continues to offload assets, while IRES says its strategic review progresses “at pace”. All the news from EG, plus a selection of headlines from the nationals: Industrious takes flex against the grainICG urges patience as it struggles to offload assetsIRES pushes on with strategic review ‘at pace’Home REIT sells 76 more propertiesGovernment wins case over Stevenage tower remediation worksMitsui Fudosan UK appoints new chief executiveRegal hits the jackpot with National Lottery operator preletTopHat managing director departs as company restructuresFirethorn seeks funding for £200m Bicester eco-townUK needs an extra 700m sq ft of senior housing by 2040, says CushmanLogistics vacancies increase while delivery slowsSama unveils revised plans for Birmingham PBSA schemePrimark to anchor CBRE IM’s Epsom shopping centreInvestment firm doubles space at Manchester’s Landmark schemeCaddick posts record £575m turnoverGordon Ramsay to open UK’s highest bar and restaurantM7 adds industry veterans to boardLondon Eye secures permanent status on the South BankAvison Young appoints four UK principalsGLP beefs up Corby logistics hub with Nike lettingBank of England looks to cut rates in summer (£)UK property surveyors see pick-up in house sales later in 2024Kazakh oligarch Timur Kulibayev sells Mayfair mansion for £35mn (£)