Co-working is the concept of both individuals and teams utilising a communal office space to accomplish their projects. In London, there has been a growing demand for such services, as both individuals and companies seek to access these shared working spaces, typically through monthly subscriptions. According to data published by The Instant Group, as of January 2024, the average transacted desk rate in London stands at £514 per month, marking an 8.8% increase from the same period in the previous year. Resultantly, the rising prices for co-working facilities has become a premium and often inaccessible solution for exclusively individual customers.


To combat this issue, and at the forefront of London’s co-working space growth and beyond is ARC Club. ARC Club currently hosts a location in Earlsfield but has 3 more locations opening across London and one outside of London next year, with additional information about these openings being released over the following weeks.

Hannah Philp’s insight, as the co-founder of ARC Club, will be woven throughout this article.


“ARC Club is a neighbourhood workspace. It is designed to meet the needs of modern professionals and contribute positively to the local neighbourhood. Unlike offices and most coworking spaces, ARC Club is designed to appeal directly to individual workers, managing how and where they want to work each day. Whether that be an entrepreneur working solo or with few, dispersed employees seeking a flexible base for their business, or a freelancer needing somewhere for a few days to finish a project, or a working parent choosing to spend a few days per week working nearer home to skip the commute. ARC Club provides everything you need to be productive, and most amenities are universally available with membership (unlimited hot-desking, fixed desks or private studios) and day passes.”


These amenities include:

  • Superfast internet with speeds ranging from 100-1000Mbps
  • Hot Desking at fully-powered workstations
  • Standing Desks and breakout spaces
  • Zoom Booths for private calls and digital meetings
  • Bookable Meeting rooms
  • Complimentary stationery and printing
  • Refreshments including NewGround Filter Coffee, Fruits and Biscuits


Co-working spaces are not a recent trend, but there has been an acceleration in the demand for these spaces in London. It is caused by the drive for a flexible workspace amplified by the Covid-19 pandemic which illuminated the fatigue and isolation experienced by some when working from home. 


As reported by Royal Society For Public Health in their February 2021 published paper entitled ‘Disparity begins at Home’, 67% of respondents said they felt less connected with their colleagues, 56% expressed that working from home made it harder to ‘switch off’ at the end of the day and 52% of respondents stated they found it was harder to take regular breaks when working from home. Therefore, having a ‘middle ground’ between the home and office via a co-working space alleviates many of these struggles. It provides a neutral space, that inspires productivity and promotes a flexible work-life balance. This introduction of co-working spaces and desire for a versatile work environment is a burgeoning development into how many are switching to a hybrid workplace model.


Moreover, searching for a dedicated location in London to situate one’s workstation and office proves difficult; considering that London is globally renowned as a major economic and business hub. Therefore, due to Central London’s reputation as having high property prices, companies, small start-ups and individuals can find it arduous to themselves rent or buy such a property space. Consistent with this assertion is the City AM article headed ‘London landlords struggle to shift office space due to high rates and hybrid work’ published in July of this year. It stated that,” Landlords have struggled to shift large London offices this year, as nerves over hybrid working and higher interest rates continue to plague the upper end of a market.” Subsequently, as memberships to co-working spaces comprise of an array of appealing amenities, it additionally motivates customers to station their work zone at a co-working space as it tends to be more cost-effective for them.


There are other significant, contributing factors that have generated the movement towards co-working spaces including the networking opportunities, exclusive amenities provided, rising number of remote workers and general surge in investment in the co-working space sector.


“Demand for ARC Club has surged in the last 24 months as more people have autonomy over where and how they work, and a long-term view over what works best for them. We have been especially surprised by the demand for day passes, which constitutes more than 25% of our recurring revenue, and for private desks as people are seeking somewhere to be based closer to home, on a permanent basis.”


This spike in demand by customers for co-working spaces has resulted in a saturated market as companies compete across London to provide more unique amenities, in more premium, central locations and partner with more corporations that are switching to the hybrid workplace model.


However, ARC Club is inspiring a new direction for the future of co-working spaces. As co-founder Ms. Philp stated that ARC Club ‘bets there is a huge market of people who are working’ and aims to provide them with ‘access to professional services’, closer to where they live, in their local communities.  Albeit ARC Club is sharing the co-working sector with much larger, expansive co-working corporations, the positive drive behind the rapidly growing ARC Club to ‘change the way in which people are working’ and ‘wanting to serve a broader market’ is certainly innovative and inspiring.


Ultimately, the co-working sector appears to be on a consistent, upward trend as the diverse customer base ranging from large corporations to individual freelancers only seems to grow with no sign of slowing down anytime soon. In light of this trend, pioneering businesses like ARC Club are expanding across London and may soon be joining every local neighbourhood.