Now Coworking disrupts the shared office market in Marseille

Top-of-the-line work spaces in the privileged setting of the Old Port

When Pascal Givon and Edouard Laubies met in 2015 at an entrepreneurs club, they decided to shake up the conventional approach to work environments. While traveling in the United States., they discovered the social aspect of business relationships and set their sights on revisiting the coworking concept. Now Coworking soon became a national brick-and-mortar network. They are gradually investing in urban centers, choosing unusual buildings in the heart of the city. In March 2020, Now Coworking will unveil 3,000 m² of high-end offices in the Old Port of Marseille. Their expansion to the Aix-Marseille-Provence metropolitan area was an obvious choice for this market leader. Provence Promotion introduced them to the digital ecosystem on the ground.

On Quai de Rive Neuve, facing the Old Port, broad canvases are wrapped tightly around a major construction site whose project cost is around €2 million. The work consists in transforming the former sailmaking workshop into prestigious offices with a rooftop deck and glass facade.  The suspense will finally be over in March 2020 when Now Coworking Marseille makes its debut. Now Coworking, the Marseille version of a successful concept launched five years ago in Rouen, has hired three employees to bring life to the building and its 3,000 m² saturated with natural light and lush with greenscape walls.

"Our goal is to have offices in the top 10 most dynamic cities in France" explains Maxime Givon, Director of Development for the company

As many as 500 co-workers will have 24/7 access to the property, which features 1,500 m2 of private space divided into 80 offices for anywhere from one to 15 people, shared office areas and drop-in workspaces. Already, 20% of the building is spoken for, with tenants ranging growing start-ups to big companies that find the terms more appealing than a traditional lease. The remaining 1,500 m2 will enable the co-workers to meet and interact with one another.

High-end coworking at Marseille's Old Port

Provence Promotion identified the company on a prospecting trip to Paris in 2018 and enabled the firm to easily connect with the digital ecosystem in Aix-Marseille. "Thanks to Provence Promotion, we were able to meet everyone who matters. We work in the high-end segment, which does not yet exist in Marseille," notes Maxime Givon.

Co-workers will have access to a full range of resources to work efficiently: symmetrical one-gig fiber internet connection, creativity rooms, call boxes, work bars, a management app and an app providing access to over 7,000 newspapers and magazines. There will also be carefully designed social spaces: a home-style kitchen, a siesta bar, a bar on the fourth floor, a social app and even a Now TV.

Flexible, friendly workspaces

Les Reservations can be made for any Now Coworking in France through our app. The various work areas offer flexibility so that users can choose between drop-in options or shared or private offices for up to 50 people.  "With our Now Care national program, we bring in sports coaches who can set up profiles and organize classes based on ability level. We also offer hand massages, creams, mini-heaters and a barber," the director adds. A productive haven for co-workers… Events organized every day (breakfasts, happy hours, lectures, fitness activities, etc.) promote interaction, which helps quickly build an ecosystem that can give projects a boost and forge business relationships right within the community of co-workers.