IWG has confirmed to Bisnow that a deal has been struck with the UK Civil Service to create flexible working hubs around the UK.

IWG said a deal has been agreed, but it could give no details.

The scheme could involve as many as 10 hubs around the country providing workspace for civil servants when not at their usual desks, the Daily Telegraph reported.

The arrangement focuses on the Department for Work and Pensions, whose workforce is distributed around the UK, Estates Gazette reported. The scheme would give staff greater choice about where they work and when, the Telegraph said.

If that is the case, the deal is likely to resemble that agreed between IWG and Standard Chartered, which allows the bank’s staff to use IWG offices as part of the mix of workplace and home-based hybrid working.

In those circumstances IWG-linked serviced office provision used by the civil service could be expected to reflect the home region of civil servants, 29% of whom are in London and the south east, and just 12% of whom are in Yorkshire and the north east combined.

Institute for Government research has shown that using civil service relocations to boost regional economies is fraught with difficulties.