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Innovative European platform and solution for flexible leasing enters the United States with a preeminent owner/operator of open-air shopping centers
TORONTO, March 26, 2024. Spacewise, the company that pioneered a visionary new software platform to help retailers and brands find and book spaces for short-term lease at consumer-facing properties throughout Europe, has come to the United States with an agreement to provide its proprietary Spacewise Suite® and Marketplace solutions at select premier properties of Regency Centers, the companies announced today.
Demand for short-term, flexible space is increasing as brands direct budgets toward experiential, physical touchpoints with consumers. However, traditional specialty leasing requires time-consuming effort to vet short-term tenants, negotiate leases, collect payment and process renewals, limiting ROI.
Spacewise's innovative and proprietary platform, created for specialty leasing teams, allows owner/operators to ramp up the leasing process and manage short-term and pop-up deals in one, easy-to-use online platform, said Brennan Wilkie, COO and president, Americas for Spacewise.
"Spacewise's digital platform streamlines and automates the leasing process from end to end, allowing our clients to simplify lead management, qualify prospects and eliminate tedious manual tasks so that leasing professionals can focus on converting tenants instead of paperwork," Wilkie said. "Our technology improves the economic model for specialty leasing, creating new revenue opportunities while adding margin by reducing the cost and time to close deals. We're excited to work with Regency Centers around the U.S. on this game-changing initiative."
Jacksonville, Florida-based Regency, which owns and manages 482 centers comprising more than 61 million square feet of retail real estate space around the U.S., has deployed Spacewise for 25 of their top-tier centers, including Village at La Floresta in suburban Los Angeles, Mellody Farm in Chicagoland, Woodway Collection in a Houston suburb and Oakleaf Commons in a suburb of Jacksonville, Florida, to market their properties and space inventory, generate leads and easily qualify prospects.
"We're always looking to expand our dealmaking capabilities. Short-term leasing provides an opportunity for brands to be first to market," said Jan Hanak, vice president, marketing and communications at Regency Centers. "Given our high amounts of traffic, grocery-anchored centers provide an exceptional opportunity to reach our shoppers even more frequently. Spacewise's platform allows new retailers to find our audience, and for us to find new brands in an easy-to-use format."
Founded in Zurich, Switzerland in 2020 and with a North American office in Toronto, Canada, Spacewise centralizes key leasing elements such as property information including availability and rates, tenant communication and vetting, asset digitization, lease or license agreements, insurance compliance, internal communications, invoicing, payments and renewals.
The company's Spacewise Suite® allows owner/operators to easily upload their space inventory with real-time availability, market their assets and qualify their leads to retailers and brands seeking locations. Depending on the subscription-based package, property owners can have a branded portal that creates an e-commerce-like experience for prospective tenants. Spacewise leverages multiple platforms as distribution channels to allow retail properties to list spaces and gain exposure to brands.
Short-term leasing and business development professionals can quickly pre-qualify possible tenants for in-line or pop-up spaces, kiosks, retail merchandising units, advertising, promotional signage, sponsorships, vending and automated retail, filming and photoshoots, parking lot exposure and events and even brand activations. Flexible lease terms include daily, weekly, monthly, holiday or seasonal and annual occupancy, depending on the owner/operator's needs.
Teams can enable potential retailers and brands to easily see availabilities and terms to determine what type of space is right for them. The result is a speedier, more targeted leasing process, which can reduce the total manual activity by as much as 90 percent. Spacewise clients have seen specialty leasing revenue increase by as much as 10 times in the first year of implementing the program, and more than 30 percent year-over-year increases ongoing, according to Wilkie.
Spacewise was honored by international retail real estate conference MAPIC as "Best Retail Innovation Solution." The award recognizes businesses in the retail real estate industry that drive innovation in retail technology. This year, PwC Scale PropTech Programme Cohort chose Spacewise from over 700 companies worldwide as one of the top five PropTech firms for reimagining how property professionals manage and market spaces while streamlining the leasing process.
"We pioneered the concept and the application for a powerful and modular short-term solution," said Chalid El Ashker, founder and CEO of Spacewise. "We've been thrilled to see it succeed with some of the largest property owners in Europe. The United States was the logical next step, and Regency is the perfect partner in the open-air sector."
About Spacewise
Awarded the Best Retail Innovation Solution by MAPIC, Spacewise is the leading software platform for flex-space marketing and leasing. Specially created to monetize commercial real estate space, Spacewise technology allows asset management, business development and specialty leasing teams to showcase property portfolios, strategically manage space inventory, and acquire more revenue from ancillary sources. Integrated online portals and automated workflows within the platform attract new tenants, qualify leads, and reduce the time and effort to close every deal. Spacewise enables leading CRE brands around the globe to find tenants, accelerate revenue growth, and improve property metrics. To learn more, visit www.spacewise.net and follow Spacewise on LinkedIn.
About Regency Centers
Regency Centers is a preeminent national owner, operator, and developer of shopping centers located in suburban trade areas with compelling demographics. Its portfolio includes thriving properties merchandised with highly productive grocers, restaurants, service providers, and best-in-class retailers that connect to their neighborhoods, communities, and customers. Operating as a fully integrated real estate company, Regency Centers is a qualified real estate investment trust (REIT) that is self-administered, self-managed, and an S&P 500 Index member. For more information, please visit RegencyCenters.com. For brands seeking short-term occupancy at participating Regency Centers, please visit Popup.RegencyCenters.com.
Media Contact
Debra Hazel, Spacewise, 1 201-618-5247, debra@debrahazelcommunications.com, www.spacewise.net
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Spacewise's digital platform streamlines and automates the leasing process from end to end, allowing our clients to simplify lead management, qualify prospects and eliminate tedious manual tasks so that leasing professionals can focus on converting tenants instead of paperwork.
Brennan Wilkie, CCO & President, Americas