Spaces Woking One: a place to call home

Conveniently positioned on the commuter belt surrounding London, the decision to open Spaces Woking One was made not only because of its proximity to the capital (just 25 minutes away by train) but also because of its own legitimate business credentials. So for serviced offices in Woking (and meeting rooms in Woking), look no further: the stylish workspace with communal work zones, private booths and 34 dedicated desks is positioned just outside the station, a short walk from a seven-metre-tall Martian Tripod sculpture – a reminder that this is the town where HG Wells wrote The War of the Worlds in 1898. In November 2019, the BBC aired a three-part adaptation of the book, which is also set here.

In reality, Woking is better known for racing cars than extra-terrestrials, with the McLaren Group being one of the largest employers. Split into three divisions, it has McLaren Racing, which designs and builds Formula 1 cars; McLaren Automotive, which hand-assembles super cars that sell for anything up to £750,000 at its Woking Production Centre; and McLaren Applied, which is responsible for putting F1 data to good use. In 2019, filings from the company revealed that revenue from car sales was up over 19%, while new sponsors and prize money have seen revenues from Formula 1 rise almost 24%.

For a satellite town of just 100,000 people, office space in Woking is in high demand thanks to the calibre of firms based here. French multinational corporation Capgemini has an office in Woking, as does financial software and services company Fidessa. It is also home to the headquarters of the World Wildlife Fund UK in the Living Planet Centre, which is one of the greenest buildings in the country and a six-minute walk from Spaces Woking One. The charity HQ has a visitor centre, hosts behind-the-scenes tours and lectures, and can even be hired for private events.

A major growth town, Woking has its own chamber of commerce dedicated to supporting and promoting local business, which means it’s not just large corporations that benefit from being here. As many Spaces users will attest, entrepreneurs are discovering life is more affordable than in London, and Woking’s close knit business community can help them achieve goals that would otherwise be hard to meet in the cut-throat capital. It’s equally suited to freelancers and remote workers who don’t need – or want – to commute on a daily basis.

The Martian Tripod isn’t the only piece of public art to be found in town. Outside Spaces Woking One is a curious sculpture of a bronze giant called The Wanderer, which was installed by local artist Sean Henry in 2017. (There is another one called Standing Woman in the Peacock shopping centre.) Another of the town’s cultural attractions is the hyper-modern Lightbox gallery and museum, which mounts exhibitions by the likes of international heavyweight David Hockney. For the type of creative professionals drawn to the coworking facilities offered by Spaces, all of this adds up to making Woking an attractive, interesting place to live and work. It makes you wonder what the next masterpiece to be produced here will be…

Doing business here is like taking a Woking the park (sorry). Want to join the vibrant community? Let’s get the conversation going