We sat down with Jack Mason, Group CEO of incspaces and Inc & Co to talk about his property business, investment firm Inc & Co, and why growing a group is both challenging and rewarding.
Tell readers in a nutshell what is Inc & Co?
We’re an investment firm specialising in M&As, finance, and distressed businesses. Since 2019, we have acquired and created multiple companies. Laundrapp, one we acquired in lockdown, was an on-demand laundry business where you used the app to have your laundry collected and delivered the next day. We bought the brand, developed it, refined its offering, and ultimately exited it a few years later to one of its competitors.
That’s clearly a successful exit of a brand that once struggled; what about any failures?
There are always failures; ultimately, we’re buying businesses no one wants anymore, whether they’re about to go bust or are riding the fine line of being liquidated. While we will always try to save viable businesses, a few things need to happen first. The business needs to be salvageable, the current staff needs to want to work through any business difficulties, and ultimately, everyone has to want to work together. If just one of those things isn’t there, it won’t work.
While we’ve had many failures, it’s not fair for me to pinpoint one, as they’re all so complex. At the end of the day, any business closure affects people’s lives.
You’re expanding into Europe with incspaces; why now?
The decision to refocus the company’s efforts on new markets is crucial. Given that the UK flexible office market has become saturated with office space providers in recent years, we must diversify our property portfolio to be one step ahead.
While the UK has seen steady growth in the office space market since Covid-19, and expectations are that it will continue to grow, incspaces are growing faster, and the UK market isn’t growing in line with our plans. We can’t just wait around for the UK market and see conditions slowly improve; that is not what incspaces is all about, and it certainly not what Inc & Co is about.”
Tell us about the European plans in more detail?
We’re investing €1.5M into our two new European buildings, which is the start of a strategic realignment for incspaces. This realignment positions the company to capitalise on new opportunities and build a strong international presence. Ultimately, we’re driven by our dedication to supporting our clients’ growth and success, and we will do that in Barcelona and Dublin.
What else are you doing to grow incspaces further?
We recently launched Infinity Office in the U.K. market. It is aimed at start-ups and entrepreneurs who don’t want the commitment of an office space but want to drop in casually, have mail redirected, and meet or attend events. It really is a one-of-a-kind service, and nothing else exists that we’ve seen before. Think virtual office, but with a VIP feel. It launched in April and has already seen enormous interest from start-ups.
