Talk:IWG plc

RfC

The following discussion is an archived record of a request for comment. Please do not modify it. No further edits should be made to this discussion. A summary of the conclusions reached follows.

We have a greatly improved, non-COI version as a collaborative effort of those with COI concerns, all of the COI editor's suggestions addressed, the uninvolved RFC respondent's suggestion addressed, a way forward for easily reviewing future suggestions, and a short todo list primarily involving a map. Closing after four weeks. EllenCT (talk) 00:28, 25 November 2019 (UTC))

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This article is lacking information for a company with 30 years of history and sites in 120 countries. By revenues and square footage, IWG plc is the world leader of the serviced office sector. I would like to ask the help of the community to edit and add content to the page for completeness to increase its quality rating from a C-Class. Calling all researchers, writers and editors! Thanks. --KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 12:59, 30 October 2019 (UTC)

@KatherineBusby2019: if you draft the article the way you want it in your capacity as a paid promoter in userspace, e.g. at User:KatherineBusby2019/IWG plc (promo draft), it would make it easier to go through all your requested changes. If you ping me when that's ready I think you'll be pretty happy with what I do with it, because I've been up against the worst paid COI editors you can imagine, and an office building lessor company seems like a dream compared to sneaky pharma and agribiz I've had to deal with. EllenCT (talk) 06:20, 2 November 2019 (UTC)

@EllenCT: Thanks for your offer to support the project. First off the bat, I am 100% open to your advice and guidance. My sole aim is to increase the quality and completeness of this page for the benefit of users and to represent the company accurately. Although I am a paid editor, I have great respect for Wikipedia as a global resource. The page at the moment categorically lacks information, hence the C-Class Quality Grade. I will draft the article in the space you suggest next week. Thanks again. --KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 07:14, 2 November 2019 (UTC)

Thanks for discussing this on the talk page. In the above section titled 'Some proposed changes', several editors raise a concern about too much marketing / PR sourcing. I share this concern. You will find it easiest to get content added if the sourcing is independent, from a WP:RS periodical or book. If this content does not exist, you may find it difficult to expand the article. Some very large companies have articles that are only a few sentences long because of the lack of reliable sources.Dialectric (talk) 14:43, 2 November 2019 (UTC)

The article, being the largest competitor to ultra notable wework is an interesting subject. Jtbobwaysf (talk) 02:39, 5 November 2019 (UTC)

@Jtbobwaysf: Thanks for joining the conversation. Please feel free to contribute your own research this page or to ping others who may also wish to do so. You can also visit User:KatherineBusby2019/IWG plc (promo draft) where edits and additional information is being suggested to improve the accuracy and completeness of this page. — Preceding unsigned comment added by KatherineBusby2019 (talk • contribs)

I added a paragraph on competition with WeWork that touches on most of the big and exciting compare-and-contrasts. EllenCT (talk) 12:05, 22 November 2019 (UTC)

@KatherineBusby2019: The version at User:KatherineBusby2019/IWG plc (promo draft) is very promotional and unsuitable for wikipedia. I would strongly encourage you to stick with the excellent improvements made by EllenCT. Best wishes. Dormskirk (talk) 12:20, 22 November 2019 (UTC)

@Dormskirk: thank you for your kind words. I'm happy with how the puffery trimming and adding a few times as many vital stats and operational details has gone. I'm the one who originally suggested that promo draft because I couldn't figure out from the old talk page contents what had already been addressed and what was still being asked. Next week or so I'm going to copy the current article wikitext into it so Katherine can just edit it to her heart's content going forward and we can use those diffs to review for updates to the mainspace article. For as much news as IWG churns out due to their very large number of operating locations, each of which frequently wants to shine light on their latest deal, combined with what the WeWork IPO filing fiasco has done to press interest in the ordinarily milquetoast industry, maintaining this article is going to take some effort going forward I predict. EllenCT (talk) 12:39, 22 November 2019 (UTC)

@EllenCT: I concur with Dormskirk on the quality of the edits and both your guidance and support. Thank you. KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 14:06, 22 November 2019 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

November requests

In the History section, would it make sense to include information about IWG selling its entire Taiwanese operation to the same entity to whom it sold its Japanese operation?

Explanation: IWG has sold its Taiwanese operation for £22.7m to TKP Corporation in August 2019.

References supporting change:

https://www.egi.co.uk/news/iwg-offloads-taiwan-business-for-22-7m/

Would it make sense to include the Board of Directors among the key people listed? --KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 13:55, 6 November 2019 (UTC)

That information is already available on the company's webpage and wikipedia seeks to present information which is independent of the company. Best wishes. Dormskirk (talk) 14:15, 6 November 2019 (UTC)

The source provided for this fact is an independent, third source. I was not sure what you meant by "that information is already available on the company's webpage." Please let me know if you would reconsider adding the Taiwan sale to the front end of the Wikipedia page, in the paragraph describing both the Swiss and the Japanese sale. Thanks. --KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 05:53, 25 November 2019 (UTC)

Hi again! In the History section, would it make sense to add information about IWG selling its entire Swiss operation for £94m?

Explanation: IWG has sold its Swiss operation for £94m to a joint entity owned by private banking group J. Safra Group and real estate investor P. Peress Group in November 2019.

References supporting change:

https://www.cityam.com/wework-rival-iwg-sells-swiss-business-for-94m/ https://www.morningstar.co.uk/IntroPage.aspx?

In the Operations section, would it make sense to mention the comparison with WeWork?

Explanation: Following workspace providers WeWork's IPO submission and retraction, added to the controversy over their financial model, the global press has noted that IWG is both larger than WeWork and profitable. It is interesting that not everyone agrees with the comparisons being made. I have included sources comparing both comparing and critiquing the comparison.

References supporting change:

https://fortune.com/2019/10/09/iwg-coworking-company-wework-ipo/ https://www.geekwire.com/2019/amid-weworks-struggles-co-working-pioneer-rapidly-expanding-turning-profit/ https://www.fool.com/investing/2019/08/16/sorry-wework-isnt-at-all-like-iwg.aspx

KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 11:17, 15 November 2019 (UTC)

Hi - I have inserted a sentence on the Swiss disposal. I have not included anything on the comparison with WeWork on the basis that most of the coverage is knocking WeWork and I don't think a wikipedia article on IWG is the right place to do that. Best wishes. Dormskirk (talk) 12:01, 15 November 2019 (UTC)

In the History section, would it make sense to mention some landmark openings?

Explanation:Regus opens its Signature brand in Rome.

References supporting change:

https://www.askanews.it/video/2019/11/15/signature-by-regus-arriva-in-italia-aperta-a-roma-la-prima-sede-20191114_video_17455814/

Explanation:Spaces opens a 20 000 m² coworking space in Paris, France.

References supporting change:

http://www.leparisien.fr/hauts-de-seine-92/spaces-ouvre-un-espace-de-coworking-geant-a-la-defense-14-01-2019-7988442.php

Hi - This reads like promotional material again. Best wishes. Dormskirk (talk) 13:58, 18 November 2019 (UTC)

In the History section, would it make sense to add information about Regus (as it was known before becoming IWG) being sold in 2002 and then buying back its 58% stake in 2005?

Explanation: In 2002, Regus sold 58% stake to Alchemy Partners. In 2005, it bought back the 58% stake from the same private equity firm.

References supporting change: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2002/dec/21/2

This is really confusing. I think it would need an explanation as to why it happened - presumably it was because the company was in financial difficulties. Dormskirk (talk) 16:06, 20 November 2019 (UTC)

Hi :@Dormskirk:, the answer to your query is in the article:

"Regus, the serviced-offices firm, yesterday said it had sold off a majority stake in its only profitable business in an 11th hour rescue deal to keep the company from bankruptcy." KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 09:42, 21 November 2019 (UTC)

Now inserted. Dormskirk (talk) 10:28, 21 November 2019 (UTC)

As we have images of Spaces and No18, would it make sense to add an image of Regus at some point in the History section? Link below:

File:Regus Henley-on-Thames, United Kingdom.png

Regus Henley-on-Thames, United Kingdom

KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 15:32, 20 November 2019 (UTC)

The images look like marketing material again. Dormskirk (talk) 16:06, 20 November 2019 (UTC)

@KatherineBusby2019: I think we've gone about as far as we can for this section, but as for photos, I have a suggestion. I just picked these four Regus locations at random, two from iconic London business locations,[2][3] one from Manhattan's WTC business district,[4] and one from some random location in New Mexico.[5] If you can upload any or all of those sets of photos to the Commons category, that will give readers a far more coherent idea of what the locations are really like than outside shots or a lobby instead of the office space and its decor. (But again, a comprehensive locations map would be even better.) In the mean time I added a "virtual tour" video from one of your landlords in Toronto, which is possibly even better to serve the purpose to show people what your locations look like in ways we can't really with text. EllenCT (talk) 11:48, 22 November 2019 (UTC)

@EllenCT: Hi Ellen, the images are now on Wikipedia (links below). Some of them are slightly different angles to the photos you suggested - this is what I could find in our company archives. Please let me know if they need adjusting in any way.KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 16:35, 22 November 2019 (UTC)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Regus_Brookfield_Place_New_York.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Regus_Two_Park_Square_Center,_Albuquerque_USA.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Regus_Berkeley_Square,_London.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Regus_Canary_Wharf_London.jpg

In the History section, would it make sense to add a subsection on Sponsorships?

Explanation: IWG, or Regus as the group was formerly known, has supported and sponsored many notable cultural and sporting events over the years, including the 2000 Ryder Cup, the 2001 London Film Festival, 2017 Volvo Open Yacht Race.

References supporting change:

https://www.golfmagic.com/news/golf-news/ryder-cup-announce-six-partners/1361 https://mypr.co.za/volvo-ocean-race-regus-has-all-hands-on-deck-as-team-scallywag-makes-their-way-to-cape-town/ https://homemcr.org/event/regus-london-film-festival-on-tour/

Looking forward to feedback. KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 05:57, 25 November 2019 (UTC)

We sometimes put current sponsorship information in the articles of the organizations and events which are sponsored, not in the articles of the sponsors. The reason is that if someone is reading this article they want to learn facts about IWG, and sponsorships just get in the way of that, whereas people who want to read about events often have an interest in where they are getting funding. But we don't have articles or even sections on the two events from 2000 and 2001. Is the other one the 2017–2018 Volvo Ocean Race? If so, can we get a full list of sponsors?

@EllenCT:The 2017–2018 Volvo Ocean Race is correct. KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 09:20, 26 November 2019 (UTC)

@EllenCT: The archive of Volvo Ocean Race sponsors is here. https://archive.theoceanrace.com/en/sponsors.html In the following link is a zoom-in on team that Regus sponsored, featuring the company's logo on the yacht: https://archive.theoceanrace.com/en/teams/Team-Sun-Hung-Kai-Scallywag.html KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 09:20, 26 November 2019 (UTC) KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 09:20, 26 November 2019 (UTC)

I really want to work with you on getting a map, Katherine. If you can obtain a data file of street addresses and postcodes, I can convert them to latitudes and longitudes automatically and make a map. EllenCT (talk) 06:59, 25 November 2019 (UTC)

@EllenCT: I am building the list of addresses internally and will get back to you in the next few days. What would be the most sustainable way of keeping it updated? The company is opening new centres every week. 90.152.70.54 (talk) 10:19, 25 November 2019 (UTC)

In the Operations section, would it make sense to add information and an image about Mark Dixon's interviews with CNBC and Bloomberg?

Explanation: Mark Dixon talks about how the flexible workspace model works, the growth of the coworking industry and Dixon's opinions on WeWork's valuation when IWG is much larger and more profitable.

References supporting change:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2019-10-01/wework-spotlight-has-helped-the-shared-workspace-industry-billionaire-mark-dixon-says-video https://www.cnbc.com/video/2019/10/01/iwg-ceo-on-wework-and-the-commerical-real-estate-market.html

@KatherineBusby2019: are the locations in Switzerland and Japan no longer IWG, or franchises that should be on the map? EllenCT (talk) 01:15, 28 November 2019 (UTC)

@EllenCT: They continue to be part of IWG, but are run operationally by different companies.KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 10:43, 28 November 2019 (UTC)

Would it be possible to correct and clarify the following sentence:

In 2002, the company sold a 58% stake in the UK business to Alchemy Partners in an 11th-hour rescue deal to keep the company from bankruptcy; the company bought the stake back three years later. 90.152.70.54 (talk) 11:41, 28 November 2019 (UTC)

Done. Best wishes. Dormskirk (talk) 11:54, 28 November 2019 (UTC)

Good article nomination

@KatherineBusby2019: please withdraw this nomination -- it's nowhere near the criteria yet. I understand the frustration with the COI backlog, but patience please.... EllenCT (talk) 19:05, 7 November 2019 (UTC)

@EllenCT: I've removed it based on your recommendation. --KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 11:49, 8 November 2019 (UTC)

@EllenCT: Hi again. I have noticed that your edits have ceased on the page. I would like to reinstate the nomination. --KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 10:37, 19 November 2019 (UTC)

In my opinion this article as it exists now does not qualify for a Good Article nomination. Also, an editor with Paid or COI should not be a nominator. If nominated, reviewed and failed, that information, including the failure, would become a permanent part of the Talk page content. David notMD (talk) 12:17, 19 November 2019 (UTC)

@EllenCT: It's great to see that the page has gone from a C-Class to a B-Class. The page already feels more accurate and complete, thank you for all your work. It leaves me wondering - how could we get the page to the point that the Good Article Nomination would make sense? Is there a way to link this page with WikiProjects (I have tried to do this, but unsuccessfully so far). Do let me know what you would need, I am here to support you and the other editors find the best information for this page. --KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 09:23, 26 November 2019 (UTC)

The map is your best chance to meet WP:GACR#The six good article criteria numbers 3(a) and 6. EllenCT (talk) 10:55, 26 November 2019 (UTC)

I know it seems like we're almost there, but hold off for a month or two, please. There is still a lot being written about WeWork right now, and much of it mentions IWG with some really interesting business stats and detail that I want to review after after there's a little more distance from the current event of the WeWork IPO cancellation fiasco. EllenCT (talk) 01:13, 28 November 2019 (UTC)

@EllenCT: Sounds sensible. Thanks. KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 14:17, 2 December 2019 (UTC)

Maintenance template removal

Resolved

Hi, as a paid editor, I have now ceased to edit the page or make suggestions for improvements on the Talk page. Independent, reliable editors are now the only ones making changes (if any) to the page. Please can we consider removing the Maintentance template? Thanks. --KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 10:34, 14 November 2019 (UTC)

OK with me, providing no other editors object. Best wishes. Dormskirk (talk) 10:41, 14 November 2019 (UTC)

Hi - I thought you had "now ceased to edit the page". Unfortunately (i) you have edited the page again by removing the template and (ii) you have not give other editors enough time to comment (and another editor with concerns has decided to restore the template). Best wishes. Dormskirk (talk) 20:47, 14 November 2019 (UTC)

Dormskirk You're completely right, I had misunderstood that I could not be the one to take it down - of course it constitutes an edit to page! Apologies. --KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 09:12, 15 November 2019 (UTC)

No problem. Best wishes. Dormskirk (talk) 09:15, 15 November 2019 (UTC)

Dormskirk As it has been a few days with no further comments from editors (aside from the misunderstanding of the other day) could we please consider removing the maintenance template? --KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 10:38, 19 November 2019 (UTC)

In my opinion the tag remains. Even after a few non-affiliated editors have made minor changes, the content verges on promotional point of view. The criticism I expressed earlier is that there is far too much content on financial operations of the business and far too little on what the business does. David notMD (talk) 12:09, 19 November 2019 (UTC)

@David notMD: Thanks for the feedback. To explain what the business does, how would you recommend approaching this? For example, this article includes facts about what IWG does:

"That business, which IWG entered talks to buy in the summer, comprises four London office buildings that provide meeting rooms and private members’ space."

Reference: https://www.standard.co.uk/business/iwg-adds-to-its-london-offices-empire-with-new-sites-as-wework-falters-a4256596.html

I would have thought the source is credible, it talks about what the business does, without being promotional. Would it make sense to add this to the page? KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 16:48, 19 November 2019 (UTC)

The consensus is clearly that the tag should be retained. Dormskirk (talk) 13:46, 19 November 2019 (UTC)

As to descriptions of what IWG does, what is needed is published description of the nature of the business, not what it is buying or selling. A business doing business is not notable. David notMD (talk) 22:25, 19 November 2019 (UTC)

@David notMD: In terms of the "nature of the business," would I be right in thinking you mean information around the sector to which this company belongs? Would the following information from Colliers International 2019 Flexible Workspace Report be a relevant addition to this page, namely information sourced from the following paragraphs:

There are two major players that dominate flexible workspace activity in Europe, as highlighted by the chart below: International Workplace Group (IWG), which incorporates Regus and Spaces; and WeWork. IWG has been the longest standing player in the European market with Regus operations commonplace in a large number of European cities. Their activity has gradually ramped-up over time and the Regus offer is now complemented by their more modern, flexible brand ‘Spaces’, which has upscaled significantly since 2016. Spaces are a high-end co-working firm founded in Amsterdam that IWG acquired in 2015. Colliers’ estimation is that IWG operate across just under 1,100 locations and 30+ countries across Europe.

It is interesting to note that IWG and WeWork were ranked first and second, respectively, as the biggest corporate foreign direct investors globally from September 2017 to 2018, knocking Amazon back into third place. According to data from greenfield investment monitor fDi Markets, IWG created 221 projects between September 2017 and August 2018, an increase of 200% on the previous 12-month period. Western Europe was the main destination market for IWG, where it made 92 investments, and it was also the top investor in emerging Europe and Africa. Almost two-thirds of these investments were made through the company’s subsidiary, Spaces, a high-end co-working firm founded in Amsterdam that IWG acquired in 2015. Reference: https://www.colliers.com/-/media/files/emea/emea/18039-flexible-workspace.pdf?la=en-GB

Another point I wanted to clear up, the "nature of the business" can also describe what the company does, including the type of services it provides and how it is formed. If the Colliers example does not work, and we've said what the business does (i.e. buys and sells) is not relevant, think we need to be more specific here, both to avoid confusion and find the most appropriate sources. Your guidance is welcome. KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 15:07, 20 November 2019 (UTC)

I feel like I've cleaned up any potential COI issues so I removed the template and would be happy to address specifics if others disagree. I feel like some of the material Katherine suggested above and Jtbobwaysf's mention of the Wework competition at the RFC above should probably still be addressed (one of the sources I added at Katherine's suggestion does go into some detail about Google's choice of IWG over Wework -- and perhaps that's sufficient?) EllenCT (talk) 05:05, 22 November 2019 (UTC)

I am ok with the template removal... Sure, lets see if we can try to put in some content about the different IWG products it has. Jtbobwaysf (talk) 06:00, 22 November 2019 (UTC)

Thanks. Here's a really good comparison with WeWork from FT which has a locations map towards the bottom, but given that [6] claims 3,300 locations currently, it's far from complete. It does, however, say a lot more about the primary aspects of the company than we could ever get out of text. Maybe Katherine can find a unified locations map and release it for upload. EllenCT (talk) 08:45, 22 November 2019 (UTC)

Given useful, referenced additions to the article, I concur with removal of the maintenance template. David notMD (talk) 14:04, 22 November 2019 (UTC)

What does IWG plc DO?

After much referenced content about the history of IWG and the name changes, this seems to be the sum total of description of what the business does (and the references are weak): "The company provides serviced offices, virtual offices, meeting rooms, and videoconferencing to clients on a contract basis... it is the world's largest provider of flexible workspace." Are there no sources that can be referenced providing more details about the nature of IWG's business. As a business person who has never availed myself of serviced offices, virtual offices, meeting rooms and videoconferencing on as contracted basis, I have no good idea if what all that means. David notMD (talk) 21:12, 20 November 2019 (UTC)

It's my fault, I was going to go through the old "Key Markets" section for re-inclusion under "Operations & Services" but I forgot. EllenCT (talk) 04:33, 22 November 2019 (UTC)

 Done EllenCT (talk) 01:11, 28 November 2019 (UTC)

Locations map

@KatherineBusby2019: is there any sort of a zoomable map covering all IWG properties? I suggest there should be. If I want to find space near me, the interface for doing so among all the six properties is organized by municipalities, which in my case means I end up looking at seven locations just for Regus (requiring me to click "load more" to see past the first six), none of which have specific locations associated with them unless I click through. That seems like a profound inefficiency given that people looking for serviced offices or coworking space are going to first and foremost be interested in a specific precise location. If the web site(s) get a zoomable, clickable map it would definitely make a good external link. In either case, this article could really use a static map of the ~3,300 worldwide IWG locations uploaded to Commons. EllenCT (talk) 10:27, 22 November 2019 (UTC)

@EllenCT: Genuinely not sure. Will get back to you on this. I agree it could be an excellent addition to the page. KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 16:36, 22 November 2019 (UTC)

@EllenCT: I have a list of all centre addresses, in a Word doc. What's the best way to get it to you? KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 16:28, 25 November 2019 (UTC)

@KatherineBusby2019: fantastic! Just copy and paste the text into User:KatherineBusby2019/IWG locations please. Looking forward to it! EllenCT (talk) 22:43, 25 November 2019 (UTC)

@EllenCT: I have pasted it, but I wouldn't think it's that easy to read. If there is a way to send you the Excel, let me know. --KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 09:12, 26 November 2019 (UTC)

 Done fun! EllenCT (talk) 01:11, 28 November 2019 (UTC)

The map is a huge value-add to the page and for users. Thanks for your support and hard work. KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 15:17, 28 November 2019 (UTC)

Interior photo

@KatherineBusby2019: Sorry those photos you uploaded at my request got deleted, but they have to be under a Creative Commons license because they don't fit the criteria for non-free use, and I was looking for interior shots because everyone knows what office buildings look like, and the one Spaces photo we have is a suitably gorgeous representative exterior. here's one that someone uploaded to FourSquare from your "(1)" office (the first Regus location?) at Avenue Louise 65 in Brussels which I think would work better for an example than the less common business lounge we have now. Can you get something like that uploaded with a CC-BY-SA license so we can use it in the article please? EllenCT (talk) 01:11, 28 November 2019 (UTC)

@EllenCT: Would this image work? It is a better-lit version of the first Regus office ever founded in 1989 at Avenue Louise 65, Brussels:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/First_Regus_location_at_Avenue_Louise_165%2C_Brussels.jpg

--KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 15:16, 28 November 2019 (UTC)

 Done perfect. EllenCT (talk) 21:33, 28 November 2019 (UTC)

Adding new pages: Regus and Spaces

@EllenCT: @Dormskirk: Hi both, as editors who have made key contributions to this page, I would like to open a discussion about when and with what conditions would it be appropriate to build new Wikipedia pages on IWG's operating brands, Regus and Spaces. --KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 14:16, 2 December 2019 (UTC)

Personally I would not do this: it smacks of marketing and might undo some of the excellent work already undertaken by EllenCT. Best wishes. Dormskirk (talk) 19:16, 2 December 2019 (UTC)

Perhaps I could build up the pages as a draft, in the same way proposed by @EllenCT: for IWG plc? When the editors are satisfied that the page is factual and not a marketing exercise, we could then implement it. What do you think? --KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 09:11, 3 December 2019 (UTC)

I would defer to EllenCT on this. Best wishes. Dormskirk (talk) 09:31, 3 December 2019 (UTC)

@KatherineBusby2019: if you are willing to include your premium Signature and No88 brands in this effort, I would be willing to help. Is IWG willing to sponsor a Wikipedian in Residence? I ask because if you wanted to make such articles as nice as with the Colliers video EL for Spaces and No88, the best way to do that would be to hire a Wikipedia:GLAM-affiliated videographer to do it for you. Please copy the existing wikitext and change [[Category: to [[:Category: . Remember you are building on Regus and Spaces, the later of which is a disambiguation page. That poses the question of what to call an article about a company (or brand in this case) whose name falls within trademark law but outside of WP:COMMONNAME etc. So please update User:KatherineBusby2019/IWG plc (promo draft) with a wikitext refresh, and copy that same wikitext into User:KatherineBusby2019/Regus (corporate draft), User:KatherineBusby2019/SpacesWorks.com (corporate draft) (resumably having greater visibility for the domain name has greater profit potential than the ambiguous trademark), and User:KatherineBusby2019/No88 (corporate draft). EllenCT (talk) 21:14, 3 December 2019 (UTC)

@EllenCT: Let me further explore the Wikipedian in Residence option and get back to you.

I've reached out to Carl (hope I got his Wiki username right) but we have a number of Spaces and No18 videos already on the IWG YouTube channel that you may want to check out.

I'll try my best to follow your instructions to create the new draft pages for Regus, Spaces, No18, Signature. KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 08:46, 4 December 2019 (UTC)

Update:  Done KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 08:57, 4 December 2019 (UTC)

@KatherineBusby2019: thank you! [7] and [8] are great but (and this is one of the things that the COI makes it hard for you to see) the Colliers video is considerably more interesting and informative with its heavier use of titles. The essential characteristics of your product are incomplete -- the offices are only optimal when someone is using them to be productive. But actually showing people being productive is, well, it's okay but psychologically it's just people in an office. In the best case they are having fun, but even if they are it's not likely to be evident or discernible along the smile-grimace continuum for reasons that have to do with the endocrine system. That's why I recommended Carl. In any case, you can balance the empty office space with overlaid titles describing the amenities and feature statistics, and that creates a positive tension between the reader imagining themselves utilizing the space instead of watching people who may or may not actually be enjoying the space without using it as much. But I have no idea whether Carl has experience with videography. My understanding is that you can sponsor a gig effort from the WiR and WiR-wannabe corps. In a perfect world corporations would have Wikipedians in Residence just like the best libraries, but it doesn't make sense for a business about which people are likely to be put off by a longer article. If you have other partners like Colliers from whom you are leasing Spaces or No88 offices somewhere, they may be just as likely to create a more attractive video with the benefit of third party perspective too. I remain convinced that if you can find someone with WP:GLAM videography experience, that is probably going to be a better deal, and then you know someone in person who can take over for me here. EllenCT (talk) 09:51, 4 December 2019 (UTC)

@KatherineBusby2019: Here is a fun way to use a zoom-in on a small whiteboard to avoid title overlays for messaging. You could ask on Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Architecture and Wikipedia:WikiProject Wiki Makes Video/Suggest for volunteers to do their local SpacesWorks.com office in that format like Wikipedia:Videos#Tour-type videos and the Colliers video. EllenCT (talk) 13:28, 5 December 2019 (UTC)

Great suggestion.  Done KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 20:01, 6 December 2019 (UTC)

December requests

Would it make sense to add the following facts about the company? Events, their dates and sources all below:

Acquisitions

The Clubhouse acquisition of four London locations in Mayfair, Bank, St James’s and Holborn Circus (September, 2019) https://www.morganpryce.co.uk/knowledge-centre/exclusive-news-articles/iwg-in-talks-to-acquire-the-clubhouse-members-club-and-meeting-space/

Strategic Partnership Transaction in Taiwan for 14 flexible co-working centres (August, 2019) https://www.egi.co.uk/news/iwg-offloads-taiwan-business-for-22-7m/

Acquisition of New Zealand's BizDojo business centres with 14 locations in New Zealand across Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch (2017) https://allwork.space/2018/02/iwg-is-buying-up-coworking-spaces/

Acquisition of Basepoint Business Centres, 340 centres in the UK alone (2017) https://allwork.space/2017/08/regus-grows-portfolio-by-1-million-square-feet-in-a-single-day/

Acquired MWB Business Exchange, then the UK's second largest provider of office space with 50 centres (2012) https://www.propertyweek.com/news/iwg-puts-firm-behind-old-mwb-centres-into-administration/5104452.article

Takeover bid 2018

Prime Opportunities – approached IWG about takeover bid (May, 2018)https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/prime-opportunities-becomes-fourth-bidder-for-regus-owner-iwg-m6gnsrlnv and then drops pursuit https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iwg-m-a-prime-opportunities/prime-opportunities-drops-pursuit-of-britains-iwg-idUSKBN1KD0L4

TDR Capital and Starwood Capital – approached IWG (May, 2018) https://es.reuters.com/article/innovationNews/idUKKCN1J41KT

Terra Firma - approached IWG about takeover bid (June, 2018) https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iwg-m-a-terra-firma-cap-exclusive/exclusive-terra-firma-approaches-iwg-about-joining-bid-battle-for-offices-firm-sources-idUSKBN1JI2BY

IWG receives first takeover bid from Brookfield and Onex (December, 2017) https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-16/brookfield-onex-are-said-to-plan-3-7-billion-bid-for-iwg

Early years as "Regus"

Regus announces shifting its headquarters out of the UK to Luxembourg (August, 2008) https://www.questia.com/newspaper/1G1-184200580/regus-joins-the-rush-of-companies-to-quit-uk-on-the

Regus agrees to buy HQ Global, its US rival (2004) http://www.crenews.com/general_news/general/hq-global-workplaces-to-sell-for-302.5mln.html

Regus confirmed its exit from bankruptcy protection in the US and launched a GBP55m rights issue (November, 2003) http://europe-re.com/regus-exits-chapter-11-and-launches-55m-rights-issue/23854

Regus abandons HQ Global plans (June, 2001) https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/regus-abandons-talks-to-buy-rival-hq-global-9180658.html

Regus launches bid for US rival HQ Global (June, 2001) https://www.marketwatch.com/story/regus-to-bid-for-hq-global

KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 12:21, 4 December 2019 (UTC)

If you do get a GLAM-experienced videographer for a vid, I hope you will ask them to do these. I like some of them, but they need statistics: for the first section, how many locations are involved for each item? Takeover bid is historical minutae no matter how earth shattering it seemed at the time. Early years is sweet but you're probably never going to be adding more than one or two paragraphs a month if you want to meet article stability criteria (should you want to get from Good to Featured some day.) In the mean time, I still think you should make a donation to the WiR corps. How much would 500 hours of business lounge access cost you if it were distributed to the Wikipedia Library to be distributed as either cash or utilization (so worst case is the monetary value of 1,000 hours)? EllenCT (talk) 04:55, 5 December 2019 (UTC)

@EllenCT: All our deals run through an extensive internal vetting process. I will, however, put this idea to them, it's a good one.

The number of locations for each acquisition has been added. KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 13:08, 11 December 2019 (UTC)

Great; when I have time to look through the new drafts I will figure out a recommendation for the thresholds you can set to achieve a balance between article stability and updates. We might be able to make use of a table of recent changes for your customer-facing locations better than another WP:EL to press releases. I like that you are looking for potential WiR candidates to take over for me here! EllenCT (talk) 02:08, 22 December 2019 (UTC)

@KatherineBusby2019: If you had to pick only one of these, would it be the Basepoint 340 above, the net change in locations last year, your three favorite statistics at [9], the stock chart here, but for the past year ("1Y"), or a voice-controlled map; which would you pick and why? Please try to decide based on what is likely to help typical readers the most. I am most inclined to add the number of locations at January 1, 2019 and 2020 plus the stock price change over the past year, which are easy, and a variety of map upgrades, any of which would be much more work. However, the map upgrades I am thinking of can be reused in tens of thousands of other articles, potentially. EllenCT (talk) 22:51, 6 January 2020 (UTC)

@EllenCT: (1) The ability to isolate locations by brand would be interesting. The map could then be repurposed on the future Regus and Spaces Wikipedia pages. (2) Adding the stock price would be interesting information for investors. Those two would be my proposed additions. In other news, I have an interview with a potential WiR in the next couple of weeks! KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 15:52, 7 January 2020 (UTC)

On them. (2) is https://imgur.com/a/t7JiXzT EllenCT (talk) 08:33, 8 January 2020 (UTC)

File:IWG plc stock chart for 2019.png

@KatherineBusby2019: if any of the admins disagree that this chart doesn't contain any elements of original authorship, we can ask someone to re-draw it for us at WP:Graphics or better yet you can get your graphics department to do that. I can't believe you wouldn't want to have it framed for all your thousands of lobbies, really. EllenCT (talk) 22:34, 10 January 2020 (UTC)

January 2020 requests

Hi! Could we please reinstate the image of the first Regus centre in Brussels? This image was sourced from IWG's personal database and we give permission to use it on this Wikipedia page.--KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 08:50, 9 January 2020 (UTC)

Don't worry, it's easy to get back. You will merely need to send an email at worst. Please give me a few days. EllenCT (talk) 00:51, 10 January 2020 (UTC)

@KatherineBusby2019: please send this specific email form referring to the specific filename File:First Regus location at Avenue Louise 165, Brussels.jpg and it will be restored. EllenCT (talk) 13:12, 10 January 2020 (UTC)

Email sent. --KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 15:50, 10 January 2020 (UTC)

@KatherineBusby2019: it's back. Do you have an outline and summary of [10] yet? When do I get to find out who's in charge of the geocoding outflow of your corporate locations database so they can update the maps themselves? And speaking of the stock chart, would you like to pick representative news stories from around April and August that you think would best help readers understand how the stock price was effected? You probably want stories on or just prior to April 15 and August 15. Did you have any news releases from those weeks we can compare and contrast with what may have been happening in the mass media? EllenCT (talk) 15:23, 12 January 2020 (UTC)

I added the stock chart to the article. Please let me know whether my caption is the best explanation. I really hope it isn't, and those dates don't correspond to WeWork news at all. EllenCT (talk) 06:38, 14 January 2020 (UTC)

@EllenCT: The caption is speculative. The Financial Times has written on more than one occasion that the increased IWG share price "must be" related to the failed WeWork IPO. Nevertheless, it remains difficult to prove. In the caption, perhaps we attribute the speculation to the Financial Times? Ref: https://www.ft.com/content/61ce60c8-e517-11e9-b112-9624ec9edc59 and https://www.ft.com/content/b8e19ace-ffcf-11e9-be59-e49b2a136b8d

@EllenCT: CoStar News article excerpts here:

The goal is to more than double its IWG's presence here in the years to come. The expansion plans come at a time of rapid change in the shared-office industry, said Dixon, who founded what has become the world's largest shared-office company three decades ago, operating under brands like Regus, Spaces and No18 concepts.

"There's been more change in the last two years than I've seen at any time in the last 30 years," he said in a telephone interview with CoStar News, speaking from IWG's headquarters in Switzerland. "For the real estate industry, things like valuations, or the way people look at property, will also change. (IWG) have steadily grown every year for 30 years without interruption, more or less," said Dixon. "In the future of the digital world, with more companies wanting to be agile and buy products rather than buy something they have to put together themselves, it's just going to be a bigger thing."

The company's business has grown solidly in recent years in both underlying profitability from a store-to-store basis, as well as having grown by adding new locations, Dixon said. In the third quarter of 2019, IWG added 66 locations around the world, bringing its global footprint to 3,348 locations in more than 120 countries.

"We would expect to double our presence, but it's just a question of how long it takes to do that," Dixon said. "Our objective is to get into every town and every crossroads of a town. It's a McDonald's sort of execution. We are working to increase the speed of doing this through franchising. We are finding more and more franchise partners so that we can accelerate that growth."

In the United States, IWG's annual growth rate is between 10% and 15% per year.

About half of IWG's planned growth is tied to franchising locations to property owners, landlords or executives with other franchise business experience, Dixon said. The remaining half of IWG's planned growth is tied to opening company-managed locations in cities throughout the United States.

Like a hotel, such as Marriott, with multiple flags catering to different guests, Dixon said IWG has multiple brands with plans to add more to the mix in coming years.

"Its companies wanting to buy products and not buy real estate," (Dixon) added.

Newest additions

This fall, IWG has added some high-profile locations in the United States, including the following:

- Spaces has leased nine floors totaling more than 100,000 square feet at 287 Park Ave. S. in New York City, in space that opened in October.

- No18, a luxury brand, opened in August in Atlanta at The Shops Buckhead Atlanta for its first U.S. location. The 30,000 square-foot space it will be occupying is at 3035 Peachtree Road.

- Spaces leased two floors in Hell's Kitchen at 787 Eleventh Ave. in New York City by the Hudson River. The location opened in November.

- Spaces leased space in Miami's artsy Wynwood District at 218 NW 24th St. in Miami, near Miami Central Station. The new location opened in September.

- Spaces took nearly 25,000 square feet at 611 Gateway Blvd. in San Francisco, a place that will help cater to startups near Silicon Valley.

- Spaces leased four floors totaling 30,000 square feet at 845 15th St. in San Diego. The location opened in early September.

- Spaces leased more than 78,000 square feet spanning eight floors at 620 N. LaSalle St. in Chicago

- Spaces recently opened a location in two floors of an Uber-leased building at 2550 Pacific Ave. in a hip neighborhood adjacent to downtown Dallas. This is part of Uber's "HQ2," campus.

- Spaces opened a more than 60,000-square-foot location near Houston's Energy Corridor at 800 Town & Country Blvd. in September.

KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 12:29, 14 January 2020 (UTC)

Hi! The Google snippet of this Wikipedia page is incorrect (it has the Regus logo instead of the IWG logo, the social media profiles are linked to Regus profiles instead of to the IWG ones). Can the snippet be edited from this platform? --KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 10:21, 20 January 2020 (UTC)

@EllenCT: Ellen, could you potentially support here? KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 09:33, 22 January 2020 (UTC)

Below are a list of IWG Plc's CSR activities in 2019 that could be added to the page.

• IWG partnership with Up With Women, Canada*

Since 2015, IWG in Canada has partnered with the Up With Women charity, helping recently homeless and at-risk women to exit poverty via coaching and support. More than $5 million in services has been invested in the community since the partnership’s launch. As part of the partnership, IWG provides the space required to run programme sessions. IWG has supported more than 370 recently homeless and at-risk women across Canada, providing meeting rooms at no charge for group learning and support sessions, and access to day offices for private sessions between coaches and clients. “The importance of a great workspace is so easily overlooked, but it is palpable to us. Our clients enter an IWG space, and the transformation begins to unfold immediately.” Lia Grimanis, CEO, Up With Women.

• IWG donation to Civic Force, Japan*

All franchised centres in Japan, together with clients and suppliers, have provided support for victims affected by the Kumamoto and Hokkaido earthquakes. Our colleagues, clients and suppliers collected books, unused business goods and furniture and provided these to a recycling company to raise funds. The funds raised were donated to a national non-profit organisation, Civic Force, which provides emergency services in the event of large-scale crises hitting Japan.

• IWG partnership with Global Heart Watch Foundation, France*

Our team in France partnered with the Global Heart Watch foundation (GHW) to educate and inform the public about the prevention and treatment of heart attacks. IWG organises two annual events and training sessions for our staff. IWG’s investment has helped with the training of 8,000 people.

• IWG partnership with the ProA Institute and iiGual, Brazil*

Our team in Brazil has partnered with the ProA Institute, which helps low-income young people find their first job, preparing them for interviews through coaching and by providing them with smart clothing.

Our colleagues also have a partnership with iiGual, an organisation specialising in equality, inclusion and diversity in the workforce. “The purpose of this partnership is to create close-to-home environments in which people feel good and have everything they need to work.” Tiago Alves, IWG Country Manager Brazil.

• IWG partnership with the National Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusion, Vietnam*

All IWG centres in Vietnam, together with our clients, have partnered with the National Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusion to take part in a blood donation drive and support 30 minor-patients (children under 12 years old).

Please let me know if any of these would make sense to be added to the page. KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 09:33, 22 January 2020 (UTC)

April 2019 event

Does anyone have an April 15-or-shortly-before event other than the Japanese partnership? It arguably had a sharper impact on the stock price than the WeWork IPO on August 14. EllenCT (talk) 19:47, 15 January 2020 (UTC)

Snippets and map data

@KatherineBusby2019: sorry I missed the question about snippets above. That's something your IT department may be able to address with HTML head meta tags.

Regarding the map, do you have someone in IT who can export a geocoded list of just the customer-facing sites, to for example, iwgplc.com/locations-data ? EllenCT (talk) 16:08, 6 February 2020 (UTC)

@EllenCT: Let me follow up with you about this. --KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 14:31, 10 February 2020 (UTC)

@EllenCT: Hope you are well during these trying times. Stay safe! --KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 16:39, 23 March 2020 (UTC)

@KatherineBusby2019: did you ever figure out how to export your customer-facing locations with latitude and longitude as open data? EllenCT (talk) 18:39, 7 August 2020 (UTC)

@EllenCT: Shame on me, I didn't get around to it. Just dropped a line to our CTO now to see what can be done. I'm sure it's simple enough (famous last words). Will keep you posted next week. --KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 19:41, 7 August 2020 (UTC)

2020 requests

@EllenCT: Change: Would it make sense to mention the coronavirus in this article, how it has impacted the coworking industry as a whole, and how IWG has reconfigured the company to adapt to the new situation?

Explanation: In March 2020, reports surfaced that landlord Dixon sent a letter to his own landlords in the U.K., seeking a three-month rent freeze in exchange for a three-month lease extension. A few days later, he announced he’s cancelling his next dividend payment and halting share buybacks as part of an effort to “reduce operational costs, limit both growth and maintenance capital expenditure and optimize cash flows.

Reference to support change: https://www.forbes.com/sites/chasewithorn/2020/04/10/the-anti-wework-how-mark-dixon-built-his-coworking-company-to-survive-coronavirus/#3818e30621b8 --KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 07:42, 14 April 2020 (UTC)

@EllenCT: Additional paragraph: IWG plc does a number of CSR and pro bono activities which are documented in their Annual Report. Would it make sense to include a new paragraph on this?

Explanation: There are four key areas of focus for IWG's Corporate Social Responsibility work: providing humanitarian support following a disaster; helping with education and skills development, for disadvantaged people as well as school-age children; supporting entrepreneurship; and helping with health in the community. Right across the world, this work sees our own colleagues, clients, suppliers and other stakeholders work with amazing energy and enthusiasm to address issues within local communities. In 2019, this collectively raised £412,420 through 354 projects, supporting 283 charities, in 50 countries. Our research shows that a flexible workspace serving a community can save locally based employees a total of 7,416 hours each year by reducing commuting times, directly contributing to happier workers and families. On the economic front, each centre can create 218 new jobs, of which 121 would be based in the local community. A centre can also generate US$16.47m each year, of which US$9.62m would be retained by the local economy. Environmentally, the reduced commuting that is enabled by an outer-city centre can save 118 metric tonnes of CO₂ per centre each year. Given our expansion plans fuelled by our franchising model, these positive impacts will continue to multiply over the next 10 years.

Reference to support change: http://investors.iwgplc.com/~/media/Files/I/IWG-IR/reports-and-presentations/2020/consolidated-report-and-accounts-2019.pdf --KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 09:51, 14 May 2020 (UTC)

@KatherineBusby2019: I think so. I'm sorry I missed this. Do you have a copy of the new Regus draft that got deleted? Please feel free to paste the (hopefully wiki-)text of it into User talk:EllenCT/Regus_workshop. I know you had a bunch of things of which most were notable but got out of chronological order? What were the other things that needed to be done? Converting multiple graphs into one? EllenCT (talk) 18:38, 7 August 2020 (UTC)

@Ellen: There was separating the coworking spaces location map by brand to populate the new Wikipedia pages for Regus and Spaces. There was converting multiple graphs into one (done). There is also figuring out how to keep photos of our centres (our property) on Wikipedia without an editor deleting them! I think that was it. KatherineBusby2019 (talk) 19:44, 7 August 2020 (UTC)

KatherineBusby2019, "how IWG has reconfigured the company to adapt to the new situation" is PR. Every company has done this in one way or another. The reference is advertorial. Pro-bono activities are also normal and mundane, and the source is primary. The final reference is also affiliated. At what point do we start seeing some genuinely independent non-PR pieces about this company? Guy (help! - typo?) 22:25, 9 August 2020 (UTC)

Deletion of quantitative information

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=IWG_plc&diff=969147052&oldid=969115332

I intend to revert that after I get a source for the 2Q-H20 numbers. EllenCT (talk) 16:33, 9 August 2020 (UTC)

External links

I intend to revert [11] per WP:EL. Any objections? EllenCT (talk) 01:13, 8 August 2020 (UTC)

Fine with me. Best wishes. Dormskirk (talk) 10:16, 8 August 2020 (UTC)

Merge new stuff into history

@JzG: given your characterization of the quantitative values in the opening paragraph as SEO, I'd like to know which of the two 2020 proposals from Kate Busby above you object to, if any, and on what grounds, and if you have time, which items in Draft:Regus workshop you believe should and should not be merged into the history section here. EllenCT (talk) 17:31, 9 August 2020 (UTC)

Carbon credit calculations

I note that "carbon" occurs sixteen times in [12], and ask whether others agree or disagree that the company's implicit price of carbon is noteworthy. EllenCT (talk) 17:44, 9 August 2020 (UTC)

Proposed changes to clarify relationship between IDG/Regus

• Specific text to be added or removed:

I would like to propose that intro to page:

"IWG plc, formerly Regus, is a multinational corporation that provides serviced offices to clients on a contract basis. Founded in Brussels, Belgium, in 1989, the business is incorporated in Saint Helier, Jersey. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index."

is changed to

"IWG plc is a multinational corporation that provides serviced offices to clients on a contract basis. It was created in 2016 under a scheme of arrangement to become the holding company for the firm Regus and various former Regus subsidiaries. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index."

In addition, date of foundation in infobox should be 2016 and perhaps text under 'History' could be moved to a separate section about Regus - my suggestion would be something like User:Ehjefferson/sandbox

• Reason for the change: Currently relationship between Regus and IWG not described correctly - IWG was formed in 2016 'above' Regus rather than Regus becoming IWG. (Relationship is similar to Alphabet and Google.)
• References supporting change:

Ehjefferson (talk) 10:30, 8 June 2021 (UTC)

 Not done, for now at least. This source clearly says it changed its name from Regus plc to IWG. Justlettersandnumbers (talk) 12:15, 8 June 2021 (UTC)

Update HQ location

• Specific text to be added or removed: In Infobox, change Head Office location from Luxembourg City to Zug, Switzerland
• Reason for the change: Info on head office location out of date.
• References supporting change:

Ehjefferson (talk) 10:32, 8 June 2021 (UTC)

 Done. Justlettersandnumbers (talk) 12:09, 8 June 2021 (UTC)

Mention current HQ in History

• Specific text to be added or removed: At end of History section, add (with reference) - "The new head office was established in Zug, Switzerland."
• Reason for the change: Clarity on current location as a previous location changed in 2008 mentioned earlier in 'History' section.
• References supporting change:

Ehjefferson (talk) 10:46, 27 Jul 2021 (UTC)

References

 Done PK650 (talk) 19:57, 24 October 2021 (UTC)