Commerz Real participates in new online platform “Share Your Space”

• Marketplace for flexible rental and leasing of office space and workplaces
• Contribution to greater space efficiency and sustainability
• Test phase in Munich and Rhine-Main, rollout of the concept to other cities announced

 

Commerz Real is taking a 25 percent stake in the newly founded open online platform "Share Your Space". This enables companies to rent, sublet or share their unused office space with other companies, start-ups or freelancers. In the first phase, "Share Your Space" is initially focused on office space in Munich and the Rhine-Main area, but is to be expanded to other cities in Germany. Susanne Bonfig, Head of Digital Asset Management at Commerz Real, joins the management team around Tobias Wagner and Christian Ehl as Chief Operating Officer. Andreas Muschter, Chairman of the Board of Management of Commerz Real, is also involved in the advisory board of "Share Your Space". For Commerz Real, this is the third investment in a technology start-up within a short period of time. In April, the asset and investment manager announced its entry into the crowd investing platform Bergfürst and in July into Arabesque S-Ray, a leading global provider of sustainability data.

Share Your Space is aimed at project teams looking for short-term space, smaller companies or freelancers, as well as large companies that have rented office space - usually long-term - but are not using it due to changes, part-time work, home office or travel days. According to estimates, this "invisible vacancy" comprises around half of the total office space stock in Germany, which amounts to around 500 million square meters. In contrast, it is becoming increasingly difficult for interested companies to find suitable space due to the high demand in many office markets, especially when it comes to short-term, temporary use. "A marketplace like 'Share Your Space' provides a solution to this need by quickly and easily connecting space providers and users," explains Bonfig. Not only complete offices or entire floors are rented and leased, but also individual workstations or meeting rooms. The terms range from one hour to one year. "In addition to flexibility for tenants and landlords, the platform also ensures greater space efficiency and better space utilization," Bonfig continues. Share Your Space thus increases the sustainability of spaces and offers tenants greater flexibility and lower risk when planning their space strategy. "And we help them to become more sustainable themselves," emphasizes Bonfig. "So it's a win-win package."

According to Tobias Wagner, founder and managing director of "Share Your Space", this sustainability expertise and its granularity distinguishes the concept from comparable offers: "We deliberately want to cover areas outside of city centers and thus make short transport routes possible." In addition, "Share Your Space" offers insurance in cooperation with Axa that covers landlords and tenants. "The fact that we have a globally active, fully regulated partner on board with Commerz Real confirms our business model." The cooperation goes beyond pure participation. "Our goal is to analyze the needs of the most diverse target groups in the area, including large, regulated companies," says Wagner. Based on this, Share Your Space wants to include other aspects of the rental process in the service and product portfolio, for example security issues in the property. In addition, access authorizations and area networks in the properties are being researched in Commerz Real's digital factory for the use of Share Your Space.

Commerz Real sees the investment as a further step on the declared path to becoming a sustainable, digital asset manager. "In addition to optimizing our own business processes, digitization for us means recognizing and developing alternative, new business models and developing innovative digital products," says Andreas Muschter. "And Share Your Space is such an innovative product that meets a previously unmet need and also reflects the growing trend towards the sharing economy."

 

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