UK Flex Operator Orega to Double Network to 50 Sites Following Private Equity Buyout
British flexible workspace operator Orega has completed a management buyout backed by UK private equity firm Apiary Capital, in a deal aimed at accelerating its expansion across the UK. Apiary is taking a majority stake and funding the buyout, which is led by chief executive Alan Pepper and the executive management team. Financial terms were not disclosed.
As part of the management buyout, the company’s existing leadership team acquires the business with Apiary’s backing and stays on to run it. So Orega’s managers take a stake and keep control, the private equity firm becomes majority owner, and the founders step back.
Under Apiary’s ownership, Orega plans to expand to 50 sites by 2031, roughly doubling its network. It continues focus on London, the other “big six” UK cities (Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds and Manchester) and selected regional markets, all delivered through management agreements.
“This strategic investment marks the beginning of a new chapter for us, taking a successful founder-built business onto greater opportunities,” Pepper said, adding that Apiary would back the team to accelerate growth while preserving the company’s culture and its relationships with landlords and occupiers.
Isabella Boman-Flavell, investment director at Apiary, said the flexible office market was seeing sustained growth as businesses move away from rigid long-term leases toward options better suited to hybrid teams and real estate risk management, and that Orega was well positioned to meet that demand.
Orega cited market forecasts pointing to compound annual growth of 8 to 10% in the flexible office sector through 2031. It also referenced CBRE projections that flexible space in London will rise to 20% of the office market by 2030, from around 12% currently, and noted that roughly 67% of flexible workspace deals in early 2025 were structured through management agreements — the model on which its own business is built.
Founded in 2001, Orega operates 25 centres across the UK, including eight in London, comprising around 62,700 sqm and serving more than 10,000 customers. The company runs its sites in partnership with landlords and corporate occupiers, and describes itself as the UK’s leading provider of flexible workspace under management agreements — a model in which operator and property owner share revenue rather than the operator signing a conventional lease. It has expanded quickly over the past three years, opening or growing at nine locations.
The buyout is led by CEO Alan Pepper alongside CFO Chris Toon, COO David Kinnaird, CRO Sophie Turnbull and real estate director Ben Hutchen. Founders Zach Douglas and Paul Finch remain investors, with Douglas stepping down as executive chairman to become a non-executive director. Orega said the investment gives it the resources and governance to pursue greater growth ambitions while retaining its existing model.
Pic Source: orega.com
