International Coworking provider Mindspace will open its first office in Frankfurt on September 1st. We spoke to Bastian Bauer, General Manager Germany at Mindspace. In his role as General Manager Germany Bastian Bauer is responsible for all measures and activities of the coworking provider in the German market. With his guidance, Mindspace has grown into one of Germany’s leading coworking spaces, with offices in Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, and Frankfurt. Bastian Bauer was born in Nuremberg. From 2005-2010 he finished his Bachelor and Master degrees at the European Business School Oestrich-Winkel as well as in Miami and Amsterdam. Afterwards he worked as Manager Business Development at s.Oliver supporting the restructuring of the brand, as Head of Organisation & IT helping integrating Liebeskind in the group, and as Head of International Sales at Liebeskind in Berlin.

1)  Companies struggle to find good offices in Frankfurt, and the real estate market has been tense for several years. How do companies looking for office space benefit from coworking?

Frankfurt is one of the most popular cities in Germany and the demand for offices is extremely high. Reports show that vacancies of commercial real estate including offices are at an all-time low. This consequently leads to an increase in rental prices. With regards to Brexit, this situation will become even more tense and companies need to look out for alternatives – which often offer even more advantages such as prime locations in the city center and high-end designs. This contributes to  coworking spaces becoming significantly more popular and having almost doubled market share of commercial real estate within one year from 9,3% to 16,4%, thus becoming one of the fastest-growing sectors in the metropolis.

2)  There are several players on the coworking market. How is Mindspace different?

As in all major cities the coworking market is very diverse and offers concepts for all demands. We are happy to be part of this growing community. Within the past two years, we managed to become a European leader among the coworking providers. We are one of the fastest-growing providers in the world. We like to call ourselves “the boutique hotel of the coworking sector”. We offer uniquely high-end, locally inspired, and custom-designed workspaces, with an exceptional service level. We are very proud of our well-connected community of currently 14,000 members worldwide – in fact, 93% of our members say that the Mindspace network benefits their business.

3)  What were the reasons for Mindspace to open a space in Frankfurt?

Frankfurt is one of the leading business hubs worldwide – especially for industries such as finance, fintech, retail, education, tourism and transport. Next to big players such as banks, the startup culture is also flourishing and strengthening its position in the city. After our spaces in Munich, Berlin and Hamburg, Frankfurt became the next logical step for us to strengthen our German presence. We witnessed a high demand for a coworking concept like ours. Frankfurt is an impressive city with lots of opportunities, and we are very happy to bring our culture of innovation and the future of work to the financial institutions, enterprises, small and medium businesses, and startups of Frankfurt, so they can grow.

4)  What can the members expect from your Frankfurt location?

On September 1 we will open our space in the 31-storey Eurotheum skyscraper in the heart of the city. Spanning five floors and 3,300 square meters we will accommodate over 450 members. The location is easily accessible by public transport, just 150 meters from the nearest subway and regional train stations. Close to the historic centre and main shopping area, Zeil, the neighborhood offers the city’s best cafes, restaurants, boutique shops, and parks.

Our members will enjoy excellent service from a dedicated team of community managers, an upscale coworking space with unique design, valuable member benefits with companies such as Microsoft, Amazon, and Google and  global membership access which allows our members to use any of our spaces worldwide.

Our local teams take care of everything so our members can completely focus on their growth. Our members furthermore benefit from the richness of our influential community which we connect and support through a broad variety of community events. A vibrant and diverse event calendar consisting of wellness programs, happy hours, workshops, and networking events, will make this a true center of influence in the city.

5)  What are your future plans for Frankfurt?

Berlin now has 3 Mindspace locations, and we are adding our 3rd location this fall at Stachus in Munich. We tend to identify bustling centers of industry, innovation and tech – and Frankfurt is no exception. We are certainly considering adding more locations in the Rhine-Main area in the near future.