Stelios to launch easyOffice concept

Stelios Haji-Ioannou, Britain's 49th richest according to the Sunday Times' most recent Rich List, will this week bring his "no frills" easyGroup concept to the serviced office sector.

The 40-year-old tycoon will launch his easyOffice concept on Friday in partnership with Rob Hamilton's Instant Offices, targeting start-up entrepreneurs looking for cheap, flexible space.

"We are not claiming to be better than other people so we will make sure we are very competitive," Stelios told EGi.

The first easyOffice will open at 160-166 High Street Kensington, W8 in August with close to 100 workstations in 35 rooms located above one of the group's easyInternetcafes.

Similar operations are set to open above easyInternetcafes in Glasgow and Edinburgh by the end of the year.

Separately, in partnership with leading serviced office broker Instant Offices, easyOffice is offering a web-based brokerage service offering browsers access to details of around 5,000 serviced offices globally.

The tie up came about after Instant Offices founder Rob Hamilton read about Stelios's interest in the sector and wrote to him suggesting they join forces.

For Hamilton the move makes perfect sense. "The big strength with easyGroup is it is consumer focused and in our sector, while it is consumer based there are few consumer-focused brands."