Female-Focused Coworking Company The Wing To Open In London
The Wing, a coworking firm and private members club with eight locations across the U.S., will open its first outpost in London this autumn.
The company is designed for women — its rules used to be women-only before being relaxed earlier this year — and has a network of 8,000 women. It has raised around $110M in venture capital funding.
It will occupy 12K SF across five stories in a converted townhouse in Fitzrovia. Here is a look inside.
The Wing's London space will feature uniquely British elements, like a tea room, a terrace and a portrait room with paintings of inspiring British women.
The Wing was co-founded by Lauren Kassan and Audrey Gelman in 2016. The theory behind the company was that women are more creative and successful when working in all-female environments. It dropped its women-only rules at the start of this year. It faced a lawsuit about gender discrimination in New York, although it said the new policy arose from discussions with Wing members who are trans and non-binary.
In London there will be a large events space with a ladies library and a small events space on the fifth floor leading on to the terrace. Each week dozens of events and workshops are hosted at Wing locations ranging from support groups to salary negotiation workshops to panel discussions. It has hosted speakers including Jennifer Lawrence, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Tina Fey, Cynthia Nixon, Hillary Clinton, Lana Condor, Christiane Amanpour, Stormy Daniels and Venus Williams.
Additional amenities will include a full restaurant, private meeting rooms, private phone booths, a quiet room, a printing area, a hidden meeting room and a beauty room designed with Soane London fabrics. U.S. locations have featured amenities like lactation rooms and child care facilities.
