The French coworking player is investing in the capital’s beautiful spaces, convinced that its well-established model is the answer to the new real estate needs of businesses.
At Morning, the player in shared spaces made in France, we see things on a grand scale. And in a beautiful way. We meet at one of their latest babies, rue de Trévise, in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. Majestic white buildings with colonnades and arched windows frame a calm interior courtyard. There is also a huge cafeteria, a terrace, a gym, yoga and pilates room, and even cold baths for testing.
“The cold baths are to please the founder,” admits Clément Alteresco, who created Morning in 2014 (ex-Bureau à partager) with a smile. The young man regularly subjects himself to the Wim Hof technique of bathing at 6 degrees, invigorating for the body and mind, to be practiced “in full awareness”, and preferably with a coach. This Wednesday, August 28, it is very hot in Paris, we would like to try this icy water. But let’s visit the office spaces, common areas and meeting rooms, some of which have a very Versailles feel.
A well-established formula
Morning is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year and is rolling out a well-established formula. Extremely well-located spaces in Paris, “what matters to an employee beyond their salary is the address of their workplace, that’s what creates desirability”, à la carte services (small pastries and good coffee, high-end meeting rooms and private spaces), and an application listing events and available places.
And above all a community spirit. At Morning, we are welcomed by a “Morning manager”, “one for 2,000 square meters”, who receives client companies, manages operational issues and plans events that animate the community.
This extra soul is what attracts the “roommates”, the companies that have chosen to set up shop there, whether they are individuals (freelancers), very small businesses or large listed companies.
“We have about 1,000 client companies, but what works best for us are those with 4 to 20 employees. Of course, what makes our numbers are the big companies, such as L’Oréal.”
2024, the year of rationalization
Morning Coworking has multiplied its openings in recent years, almost exclusively in Paris. The group now has 12,500 workstations in 49 spaces. Many prestigious locations, and with a few rare exceptions that are suffering a little, the coworking company is succeeding in its initial investment bets.
But now it’s time for rationalization and cost control. “We’ve grown a lot, invested in new spaces. Now we’re taking on fewer leases, we’re trying to improve the model. We’re putting ratios on the table. We’re thinking about what we’re keeping as external services, what we could take internally. For example, maintaining green plants is expensive, and it would be more interesting to know how to maintain them and make them grow,” Clément Alteresco muses out loud.
Asked about the real occupancy rate of his spaces, he deflects the question, explaining that he monitors occupancy from a financial point of view (number of places rented out of the number of places available) but admits that there would be room for monitoring, if only to stick to the habits of his “roommates”, for example lower attendance on Fridays.
Diversification to withstand hazards
Regarding the strength of the market, the founding director acknowledges that Covid was painful. “This period was a big downturn, in March 2020, all the companies stopped going to the office, we lost a little more than half of our turnover. It was quite dizzying.” But since 2021, business has been picking up.
Overall, we felt that people wanted to return to the office, and that our offer corresponded to the needs: fewer offices, but better.”
“Companies no longer want 3 to 6 year leases, and are looking for more flexible things,” adds the founding director. According to him, companies find what they are looking for: high-end spaces and the opportunity to meet different colleagues. And these are not anonymous open space positions, but small closed spaces that companies are taking over. But make no mistake, renting workstations at Morning remains expensive: expect to pay between 300 euros per workstation and 1000-1500 euros in highly sought-after locations, for example at Morning located at the Hôtel de la Marine, Place de la Concorde.
While the collapse of the giant WeWork may have damaged the credibility of coworking players, Morning, backed by Nexity, has been spared. And to avoid the vagaries of the market, Clément Alteresco has chosen to diversify the activity of his company, which now has 350 employees. In addition to renting out spaces, it has now developed its own verticals in design, cabinetmaking, interior design and work monitoring. It even has its own manufacturing workshop in Gallieni. Whether as part of a temporary model, where the initial investment must be amortized very quickly, or over the longer term. The company does this for its own spaces, but also on behalf of third parties. A way of not getting bored and continuing to experiment.
