Zurich, Switzerland and New York, USA, 23 September 2021 – Locatee, the leading workplace analytics solution, has raised 8.4m USD (7.7m CHF) in a growth financing round. Locatee has already upended the workplace analytics market by proving the value for Forbes Global 2000 companies of leveraging existing IT infrastructure for office occupancy measurement as opposed to using manual counting, badge data or expensive sensors. Companies are pressed to enable new ways of work, reduce their footprint, and improve employee health, wellbeing, productivity and experience. Locatee’s capacities, generating data that brings together the built environment and the people that use it, play a huge role in supporting these challenges.

High growth market

Today, Locatee is leading the occupancy analytics market that is estimated to grow to more than 5bn USD by 2025. This growth is underpinned by the transformation of the role of the office, which accelerated with the Covid-19 pandemic. New ways of working, the widespread adoption of hybrid work models in white-collar industries, and a renewed focus on people and the relationship between their work and the spaces they use to carry it, have given new meaning to the office – as the center of the company culture, collaboration and social interactions. This heightened attention on the employee experience in the office – after decades of open plans, cubicles, and high densities – will put the onus on businesses to experiment and validate their office spaces, and thus, to use real-time utilization data.

People at the center of the work experience

This growth funding round will enable Locatee to consolidate its leading position in this growing market, continue to unlock high value, high tier customers in its portfolio, and drive further value in the Locatee platform to support customers in their challenge to purposefully design and manage an ecosystem of workspaces, centered on people, employee experience, safety and productivity. Beyond office space optimization, consolidation and enrichment, the future of work will require businesses to orchestrate a myriad of spaces or “work points” with increasing complexity. Locatee will help businesses solve the tension between the right work experience, and the right investment in their spaces. 

The sweet spot for accuracy, robustness, costs, and efforts

The Locatee story started with the observation that some of the largest companies in the world still used unreliable processes such as manual counting or badge data, or expensive and unscalable technologies such as sensors, to figure out if one of their largest expense items, their real estate portfolio, was being used optimally or not. Thomas Kessler and Benedikt Köppel, co-founders of Locatee, set out to create a solution that not only measures space utilization in isolation, but has the capacity to contextualize spaces in relation to the people that use them. Using existing data from IT infrastructure, Locatee built the most scalable and cost-efficient solution for space utilization and created a technology that can expand beyond space measurement purposes.

The funding round 

The round is led by SmartFin, a European growth equity fund with c. 380m EUR assets under management, includes new investors such as Zürcher Kantonalbank, Swiss Immo Lab, and Verve Ventures, and sees previous investors FYRFLY Venture Partners and Tomahawk VC participating as well. The $8.4m funding round is coming on the heels of Locatee’s Series A round which raised $4m in 2020.

“The last year has been quite the ride for Locatee – even with the market being in a pinch due to the pandemic, we could still see how our solution is highly valued and sought after”, said Thomas Kessler, co-founder and CEO of Locatee. “Even in this context, we have seen our revenues grow significantly, as Locatee’s relevancy spans today’s questions and tomorrow’s challenges. Together with the board, employees, and stakeholders, we looked at the market signs, and saw the opportunity to double down on growth and value creation. And we selected SmartFin to lead this push with us”. 

“SmartFin’s strategy is to work with European market-leading technology companies to help them build and grow”, said Jürgen Ingels, SmartFin Founding Partner. “Locatee has proven to be brilliant in establishing a strong, leading position in a new, exciting and fast-growing market and we believe this is a key time to build from this leading position and create the new standard for workplace data”. 

“The vision for Locatee’s solution that convinced us before, just keeps being validated by both the market and the developments in the corporate world”, said Philipp Stauffer, co-founder and managing director at FYRFLY Venture Partners. “The momentum is enormous, and this fundraising round will allow us to capture it. We have built capabilities which have created a new category and established a market leader; we now look at realizing the full market potential, as the market wakes up to this new world of work.”

About Locatee

Locatee is the leading workplace analytics solution that transforms complex data into space utilization insight. Developed with a deep understanding of the corporate real estate challenges facing the modern world of work, Locatee empowers workplace leaders to make decisions about their business buildings with confidence. Among current Locatee customers are several Global 2000 businesses, as well as forward-thinking companies such as SwissRe, Deloitte or Zurich Insurance Group. 

About SmartFin

SmartFin is a European private equity and venture capital investor, managing c. 380m EUR in assets and investing in mid to later-stage technology companies with a focus on B2B technologies. SmartFin has an open-ended investment philosophy and invests throughout Europe and the United Kingdom. The team combines a successful venture capital and private equity track-record with extensive operational experience in building and managing leading international technology companies which differentiates it as an experienced hands-on value-added partner to its portfolio companies.

• Remote working flexibility is workers’ second-highest priority after salary  
• 25% of respondents’ workplaces are planning on enforcing full-time office working 
• Only 17% of workers want to work from the office full-time 
• 31% of workers fear frequent remote-working will prevent career progression

Zurich, Switzerland, July 21st 2021 – 42% of UK office workers will consider changing jobs if they are not offered remote working provisions once restrictions are lifted. This is according to new research released today by Locatee – the workspace occupancy and analytics provider. Only 17% of office workers want to work from the office full-time once restrictions are lifted. Despite this, a quarter (24%) of respondents have been asked by their companies to return full-time to the office. 

Commissioned by YouGov, the Locatee research provides insights into UK office workers’ attitudes towards remote working, and the effects on job satisfaction, productivity, and security.  

Demand for remote working remains high

There is still an overwhelming desire for flexible working provisions once restrictions lift, with 81% of respondents wanting at least some ability to work remotely. 15% would like to work remotely ‘every day’, and more than a quarter (26%) want to work remotely ‘most days’. A quarter (25%) would want to split their time equally between the home and office, and just 17% would opt for full-time office working.

Younger workers are far more keen to return to office-based working than those aged 25 – 54. 42% of those aged 18-24 would opt to work from the office most or all days, if given the choice. This reflects the concern amongst 48% of this age group who fear frequent remote working will inhibit career progression. 

Businesses unlikely to meet remote working demand 

There is a contrast between the appetite for remote working, and businesses’ willingness to provide it once restrictions lift. A quarter (24%) of respondents flag they will have no ability to work remotely. 28% of respondents will be offered one or two days’ remote per week, and 19% will be offered three days per week. Just 15% of respondents’ workplaces will allow for full-time remote working.

Sowing the seeds of discontent

Businesses considering implementing a full-time return to the office need to be careful, as it will have a direct impact on workers’ loyalty. Overall, just under half (42%) of respondents flagged they would be more likely to change jobs if this policy were implemented. Within this group, 22% would be ‘much more likely’. When asked to consider a potential new job role, and the minimum number of days’ remote working they’d expect to be offered, a third (32%) would expect a minimum of two days per week, whilst a quarter (25%) would bank on being offered three days per week. More than one in ten (14%) would expect four days’ remote working per week, with men more likely to require this than women (16% vs 10%). 47% of respondents cite flexibility with remote working as one of their top priorities when considering a new job offer, making it the most popular requirement after salary. 

Cash incentives

Asked to identify perks which would motivate a return to office-based working, 43% would prioritise a financial incentive. £4,000 is the average amount workers would need to be paid extra per annum in order to tempt them back into the office full-time. This represents a 12% pay rise relative to the average UK salary of £31,260. Londoners on average would require £5,100 extra per year, £1,500 more than those in the Midlands or the North. Women on average would require an extra  £3,750, vs £4,140 for men.  

Respondents were also asked how much of their salary they would willingly sacrifice in order to secure full-time remote working. Just under half (47%) are not prepared to sacrifice any amount in order to facilitate this, but for those who are, the average reduction in salary would be £1,450. 

Remote working and hindered career progression 

Almost a third (31%) of respondents believe that opting to work remotely frequently may hamper their career progression. This concern is highest amongst 18-24 year olds (48%), followed by 25-34 year olds (37%). Interestingly, those respondents who want to work remotely more frequently are also the most worried about the impact on their careers; 43% of those who would like to work remotely the majority of the time feel it will hinder their progression. 

Productivity and remote working 

Despite remote working’s popularity, questions remain over its negative impact on productivity. Just 53% of respondents feel the standard of their work is ‘equal to or higher’ than pre-pandemic levels. Only a quarter (24%) feel their current levels of creativity match or exceed those pre-pandemic. Just 23% feel their ability to create and maintain positive relationships with colleagues matches or exceeds pre-pandemic levels. 

Sleep benefits from remote working

Asked about how remote working impacts their sleeping habits, 38% of office workers state they get no extra sleep when working remotely. A quarter (24%) get between 30 -60 minutes’ extra sleep per night, whilst 13% get over an hour’s extra snoozing. Men report fewer sleep benefits, with 43% getting ‘no extra sleep’ compared to 33% of women. 

Camera camera, on the wall… who’s the fairest of them all? 

Frequent use of video conferencing has made a third (32%) of office workers more self-conscious as a result. This is higher amongst women (38%) vs men (26%). Perhaps unsurprisingly, younger workers aged 18-24 feel more self-conscious (40%). 

Job security has increased since last year

Asked about how they rank their job security, 83% of respondents feel secure, and not likely to be laid-off or made redundant. Just 12% feel non-secure, down from 28% in November 2020. 

CEO & founder of Locatee, Thomas Kessler: “The expectations of office workers have shifted enormously over the last twelve months, and appetite for remote working will remain high for the foreseeable future. However, the importance of physical office space in underpinning company culture should not be underestimated, particularly after a year of reduced colleague interaction.

The challenge for companies lies in developing a working environment which meets employees’ needs for flexibility, whilst optimally supporting productivity and commercial growth. Data-driven analysis will be at the heart of successful hybrid working policies, as companies prepare to embrace a very different world of work.” 

About Locatee

Locatee is the leading workplace analytics solution that transforms complex data into space utilisation insight. Developed with a strong focus and a deep understanding of the corporate real estate challenges facing the modern world of work, Locatee empowers workplace leaders to make decisions about their business buildings with confidence. https://locatee.com/en/ 

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About survey

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc.  Total sample size was 4358 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 24th – 25th June 2021.  The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).:

• In the context of profound transformation for the corporate real estate (CRE) industry, Locatee is partnering with CoreNet Global to contribute to shaping the next generation of CRE executives with cutting-edge knowledge and tools 
• CoreNet Global is the largest professional association for CRE executives and provides its members with professional development, knowledge-building and networking opportunities
• With Locatee expanding its customer base from Europe to the USA, the partnership with the association is a natural fit

Zurich, Switzerland and New York, USA, 13 July 2021 – Locatee has announced the signing of a strategic partnership with CoreNet Global, the association for corporate real estate executives. Under the agreement, Locatee and CoreNet Global will exchange knowledge and expertise through both organizations’ numerous platforms, as well as cooperate in terms of networking opportunities for the benefit of CoreNet Global’s nearly 10,000 members in more than 50 countries, and Locatee’s customers and stakeholders.

Locatee joins CBRE, JLL, Cushman & Wakefield, Gensler as strategic partner for CoreNet Global

The partnership will be highlighted by joint research projects to produce leading knowledge and information for CoreNet Global’s audiences. Other collaboration opportunities include the participation by Locatee in CoreNet Global events and webinars/seminars, as well as several marketing opportunities for both brands.

A number of knowledge resources developed by Locatee and its partners have already been made exclusively available to CoreNet Global’s members on the association’s Knowledge Center, adding to an already impressive database of CRE expertise built by CoreNet Global and its members and other strategic partners (CBRE, JLL, Cushman & Wakefield, among others).

“We are delighted to be able to collaborate with CoreNet Global for the benefit of global corporate real estate leaders worldwide”, Locatee CEO and co-founder Thomas Kessler said. “Our mission is to support CRE managers and other workplace professionals to better serve their own mission to enable strategic workplaces, and the combination of both CoreNet Global and Locatee’s platforms and knowledge falls squarely under this mission”.

“Locatee’s participation in CoreNet Global’s Strategic Partnership Program supports the association’s drive to innovate in the corporate real estate profession with thought leadership resources on ‘Developing a Corporate Real Estate Growth Mindset’” said CoreNet Global CEO Angela Cain.

Locatee – Uncover Workplace Insights is the leading workplace analytics solution that transforms complex data into space utilization insight. Developed with a strong focus and a deep understanding of the corporate real estate challenges facing the modern world of work, Locatee empowers leaders and managers to make decisions about their business buildings with confidence.

About CoreNet Global

CoreNet Global is a non-profit association, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia (US), representing nearly 10,000 executives in 50 countries with strategic responsibility for the real estate assets of large corporations. The organization’s mission is to advance the practice of corporate real estate through professional development opportunities, publications, research, conferences, designations and networking in 45 local chapters and networking groups globally. For more information, please visit www.corenetglobal.org or follow @CoreNetGlobal on Twitter.

US organizations are failing to move towards more progressive hot desking, co-working or activity-based office configurations