Hubble is a digital marketplace where businesses book flexible office space by the day, week, or month, no long lease required. Founded in London in 2014 by Tushar Agarwal and Tom Watson, the business owns no buildings and signs no leases. It charges a commission on every reservation made through its site. That structure makes Hubble a pure aggregator, not a landlord.
In 2022 the firm closed a Series B round. A year later it acquired Spacious, a rival flex-space marketplace, and launched Hubble Pass, a subscription that gives users credits to spend across a network of coworking spaces and serviced offices. Hubble operates mainly in London and other UK cities, listing thousands of spaces.
Hubble sits between two forces: big flexible-office brands like WeWork and IWG that manage their own buildings, and a long tail of independent serviced-office providers and coworking spaces that lack their own reservation technology. The open question is whether a pure marketplace can capture enough of the post-pandemic shift toward hybrid work to build a durable business.
How the marketplace works
A company enters its requirements: location, desk count, length of stay, amenities. The system returns available spaces from multiple providers, with pricing, photos and booking terms. The tenant reserves directly through Hubble, and Hubble takes a cut.
Hubble does not disclose its commission rate publicly. Because it carries no rent, fit-out or utility costs, margins depend on volume. Every reservation must generate enough commission to cover tenant acquisition and technology costs, with no rent-arbitrage cushion.
Hubble Pass
The Hubble Pass, introduced after the Series B, is a monthly subscription that gives a user a pool of credits redeemable at any space in the network. Think of a gym membership that works across multiple locations. For a freelancer or small team that doesn't need a dedicated desk every day, the Pass replaces negotiating separate memberships with individual coworking spaces.
The business model and who pays
Revenue comes from two sources: commission on individual reservations and subscription fees for the Hubble Pass. On a standard reservation, the landlord or operator sets the price and Hubble adds its fee or takes a percentage. On the Pass, the user pays a fixed monthly fee and Hubble pays the host space a reduced rate per visit.
The model works best when utilisation is high and cancellations are low. If a tenant reserves a space for a month and leaves after a week, Hubble still earns the full commission because the reservation was non-refundable. But if that tenant never returns, Hubble earns no recurring revenue until they book again.
Landlords and operators benefit because Hubble fills short-term gaps in occupancy. A serviced-office provider with ten empty desks can list them at a discount rather than leave them vacant. The trade-off: Hubble takes a cut of a reservation the operator might have sold directly. For smaller providers without their own sales teams, that trade-off is usually worth it.
Target customers and markets
Hubble serves four groups. Freelancers and remote workers use the Hubble Pass to access coworking on demand. Small and medium-sized businesses use the marketplace to find short-term space for a project, a new hire or a trial period before signing a longer lease. Larger enterprises use Hubble to manage distributed teams that need occasional desks in multiple cities. Startups use it to get a London postcode without committing to a year-long contract.
The primary market is London, where flexible-office supply is densest. Hubble also lists spaces in Manchester, Birmingham and Edinburgh. As of April 2024, the business has not expanded outside the UK.
The post-pandemic shift toward hybrid work has expanded Hubble's addressable market. Companies that once signed five-year leases now buy a mix of long-term headquarters space and short-term flexible space. Hubble is positioned to serve the short-term portion. But the same trend has attracted more competitors, including WeWork's on-demand product and IWG's franchise network.
Funding and the Spacious acquisition
Hubble raised a Series B round in 2022. The exact amount and total funding to date remain undisclosed. The round was earmarked for product development and expanding the Hubble Pass network.
In 2023, Hubble acquired Spacious, another UK-based marketplace connecting businesses to flexible office space. Terms were not disclosed. Spacious operated a similar model, and the acquisition added its listed spaces and operator relationships to Hubble's inventory. The deal removed a direct competitor and consolidated the UK's independent flex-space marketplace into a single entity.
Hubble has announced no further funding rounds or acquisitions since the Spacious deal. Its post-2023 financial position, including profitability, is not publicly known as of April 2024.
Competitive positioning against WeWork and IWG
Hubble competes with two types of organisation: large flexible-office brands that own or lease their own buildings, and other marketplace sites. The largest operators are WeWork and IWG, which owns Regus, Spaces and several other brands. Both run their own reservation systems and on-demand products. WeWork offers WeWork All Access, a subscription similar to the Hubble Pass. IWG offers a range of membership and pay-as-you-go options.
The key difference is that WeWork and IWG carry the cost of their real estate. When a WeWork location is half empty, WeWork still pays the rent. Hubble carries no such cost. But Hubble also doesn't control the quality of the spaces it lists. A bad experience at a Hubble-listed coworking space reflects on Hubble even though Hubble doesn't operate the space.
Hubble's advantage is breadth. It lists spaces from dozens of providers, including some that compete with WeWork and IWG. A tenant searching on Hubble can compare a Regus centre, an independent coworking space and a serviced office in a single search. WeWork's site shows only WeWork locations. IWG's site shows only IWG brands. For a tenant who wants choice, Hubble is the only option that aggregates across providers.
COVID-19 and post-pandemic trends
The COVID-19 pandemic hit the entire office sector. In early 2020, demand for short-term office space collapsed as companies sent employees home. Hubble's reservation volume fell sharply. The business responded with more flexible cancellation terms and a focus on the Hubble Pass, which suited the uncertain demand patterns of the moment.
As offices reopened in 2021 and 2022, demand returned in a different shape. Companies wanted shorter commitments and more geographic dispersion. Hubble's marketplace model was well suited to that new demand. The Series B in 2022 and the Spacious acquisition in 2023 suggest investors saw opportunity in the post-pandemic reconfiguration of office space.
The risk: the shift toward hybrid work also benefits larger competitors. WeWork and IWG have more capital and more locations. They can invest in their own technology and undercut Hubble on price. Hubble's survival depends on maintaining enough liquidity in its marketplace that tenants always find what they need and operators always find tenants. That balance is hard to strike without taking on the cost of real estate.
Key facts
- Founded: 2014, London
- Founders: Tushar Agarwal, Tom Watson
- Latest funding: Series B in 2022 (amount undisclosed)
- Acquisition: Spacious, 2023 (terms undisclosed)
- Key product: Hubble Pass (on-demand workspace subscription)
- Primary market: London and other UK cities
- Business model: Commission-based marketplace; no direct leases
Hubble vs. WeWork vs. IWG: marketplace vs. operator model
| Attribute | Hubble | WeWork | IWG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owns or leases buildings | No | Yes | Yes (franchise + corporate) |
| Revenue source | Commission on bookings | Rent and memberships | Rent and memberships |
| Platform scope | Multiple operators | WeWork only | IWG brands only |
| On-demand product | Hubble Pass | WeWork All Access | Regus Pay As You Go |
| Geography | UK only (as of April 2024) | Global | Global |
Frequently asked questions
Does Hubble own the office spaces it lists?
No. Hubble operates a marketplace. It lists spaces owned or operated by third parties and takes a commission on bookings.
What is the Hubble Pass?
The Hubble Pass is a monthly subscription that gives users credits to spend on workspace across the Hubble network. It is designed for freelancers and small teams who do not need a dedicated desk every day.
How does Hubble compare to WeWork?
WeWork owns or leases its buildings and fills them with its own members. Hubble aggregates spaces from many operators. WeWork controls the experience; Hubble offers more choice.
Did Hubble raise money recently?
Hubble raised a Series B in 2022. The amount has not been disclosed. The company has not announced any funding rounds after that as of April 2024.
