US flexible office provider Knotel has acquired a majority stake in Deskeo, the largest flexible office operator in France, as part of its strategy to expand in Europe.
New York-headquartered Knotel said the takeover of Deskeo will more than double its number of locations in Europe and positions the US firm for ‘continued aggressive growth’ across the continent following its launch in London last year and recent acquisition of Ahoy!Berlin in the German capital.
Founded in 2016 by Benjamin Teboul and Frank Zorn, Deskeo operates over 20 locations in Paris, Europe’s largest office market. Companies currently serviced by Deskeo include Shell, Claranet, Banque Travelex, and President Macron’s En Marche.
Under the terms of the transaction, Deskeo’s two founders will head Knotel’s operations in France. ‘In partnership with Knotel, we can expand faster and provide a better service to our customers,’ said Zorn. ‘Knotel has achieved tremendous scale and we look forward to leveraging its broad sector expertise, operational efficiency, and access to multinational enterprise accounts.’
‘It was important that Knotel creates a strategic presence in Paris, which is our fourth major international city and our seventh overall,’ commented Amol Sarva, CEO of Knotel. ‘We were impressed by what Frank and Ben have achieved in a short period of time and are excited by the opportunity this acquisition presents for our clients. Deskeo shares in our philosophy of providing the best quality office spaces with flexible terms to enterprises of all types, and we look forward to working together in Paris and beyond.’
Founded in 2016, Knotel is backed by $160 mln (€141 mln) of venture capital and aims to replicate its New York footprint – encompassing around 2 million sq ft spread over 80 office locations - in other major cities around the world.
Read also PropertyEU’s interview with Eugene Lee, Knotel’s global head of real estate and business development, which appeared in the December 2018 issue of PropertyEU Magazine
