Office-sharing startup Fiveoffices has closed a €3.2M fundraising round aimed at driving its expansion into new markets.
The funds were raised by business angels less than a year after Robert Glaesener and Dan Schneider launched the smart office solution in Luxembourg.
The community-driven portal offers a digital office experience, which leverages unused office space by renting it in a flexible way to other businesses.
In October 2022, Fiveoffices expanded into Paris, where it has landed on its feet, with over 500 adverts online from the region, equivalent to 45,000 m2 of office space and 6,000 workstations available to rent.
The fundraising round is expected to further the firm’s expansion into new markets but also in Paris, which has around 30 million square metres of office space, 4% of which could be sublet.
Fiveoffices forecasts 30% annual market growth thanks to greater adoption of home working and flexible office needs established since the startup of the covid-19 pandemic. The firm estimates that if the trend continues, 20% of office real estate in Paris could be empty by 2030.
It writes: “By making it possible for anyone to sublet these empty offices and put them to new uses, Fiveoffices is part of a sustainable and profitable approach that aims to eradicate empty office space while offering host companies a double financial and ecological benefit: limiting their financial expenses, optimising and rendering the rented space profitable, while reducing carbon emissions and energy bills.”
Access to the Fiveoffices platform is free for companies looking for space and sublease agreements with lease periods starting at 2 months.
