CBRE to Acquire Coworking Firm Industrious for $400M

CBRE (CBRE) has fully acquired coworking firm Industrious for approximately $400 million, a positive sign for the coworking industry after it saw bankruptcies and companies shutting down, CBRE announced Tuesday.

As part of the deal, CBRE said it will create a new business segment called Building Operations & Experience (BOE), which will “unify building operations, workplace experience and property management,” according to the announcement.

Industrious CEO and co-founder Jamie Hodari has been appointed to lead BOE and act as CBRE’s chief commercial officer. Hodari will be responsible for the firm’s marketing and branding activity, CBRE said.

CBRE first invested in Industrious in 2020 and grew its stake to approximately 40 percent by 2022. CBRE said it will now acquire the remaining 60 percent stake for $400 million.

“CBRE has been our largest investor for a long time now, and the level of trust and respect we’ve built is immense,” Hodari told Commercial Observer. “It’s an entrepreneurial company that is on the same journey as us to make the built world one that’s engaging, productive, operated thoughtfully and effectively. So I’m excited for it as a home for Industrious.”

Hodari will continue to run Industrious with the coworking firm’s Anna Squires Levine, who was promoted to president last month.

Industrious, which operates more than 200 coworking spaces in over 65 cities worldwide, will join CBRE’s enterprise facilities management, local facilities management and property management teams as part of the new BOE segment, CBRE said.

“The Building Operations & Experience segment represents a huge under-penetrated sector, and this move will expand our product suite, our economies of scale and our total addressable market,” CBRE CEO Bob Sulentic told CO. “Industrious adds flex product and experience capabilities to our offering, which are particularly attractive for investor-owned office buildings and occupier-owned office uses.”

Industrious was founded in 2012, two years after its bigger coworking rival WeWork. While WeWork was originally known for its bombastic former CEO Adam Neumann — who was known for his “tequila-fueled leadership style” and aggressive expansion — Industrious tried to be the “adult” in the coworking industry instead. It seemed to have paid off, with WeWork filing for bankruptcy in 2023, emerging from Chapter 11 in May 2024 after closing hundreds of locations, while Industrious has grown, even taking over WeWork’s former headquarters last year. 

The news of the acquisition also comes after CBRE and Industrious signed a 64,350-square-foot lease across six floors at WatermanClark and Brookfield Properties’ Lever House at 390 Park Avenue this month for CBRE’s global investment management team, as CO previously reported.

Isabelle Durso can be reached at idurso@commercialobserver.com.