'Losing co-working space would force me from job'

"A regular user of a shared business hub says he will have to quit his job if the co-working space is scrapped. The Digital Greenhouse project has been running since 2016 supporting start-ups and entrepreneurs with business growth through several schemes, and by providing an alternative to renting an office space. Now the States-funded project is under review, losing it altogether is not "off the table", the Economic Development Committee President Sasha Kazantseva-Miller has said."

"Imogen Renfrey has used the Digital Greenhouse as a base for her company Bonita Events since 2022. "This would end up with a lot of people working from home, which has its benefits, but it can also be lonely as a small company." She said the hub helps her business with costs: "It's invaluable to have this space especially when rents are so high for a small company.""

The Digital Greenhouse is a States-funded co-working hub in Guernsey that has operated since 2016 to support start-ups and entrepreneurs and provide an alternative to renting office space. The project currently receives an annual grant of 450,000 from the States of Guernsey and is under review, with closure not ruled out. Regular users warn that losing the hub would increase isolation and costs for small businesses and lone employees, potentially forcing some to quit or work from home. Committee president Sasha Kazantseva-Miller cited concerns about cost, scale, and competition with the private sector and called for careful consideration of physical space needs.

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