The Alabama Futures Fund has made another investment to bring a new enterprise to Birmingham.
The fund has invested in Denver-based Office Exchange, a company that has developed a marketplace platform connecting parties interested in forming short-term leases for commercial properties. As an increasing portion of the commercial office market is shifting away from large, company-wide space to smaller and more flexible offices, Office Exchange is aiming to monetize empty or under-utilized office spaces by connecting those spaces with those who need flexible, short-term agreements.
“During the Covid pandemic, we watched workforces go remote and many large lease-holding organizations realize carrying office space for 100% of their employees was an outmoded business model," said Matt Hottle, Partner at Redhawk Advisory. "Companies simply don’t need to have everyone in the office every day, but they do need the flexibility to support a hybrid workforce. The OE platform is the first end-to-end solution for both 'guests' and 'hosts' where the entire process, from finding the space to rent through signing a lease and scheduling rental payments, can be managed through a single platform. The market timing for Office Exchange could not be better.”
Office Exchange will employ five people in its new Birmingham headquarters initially, but its leadership would like to double that number by the end of the year.
“We are excited about our partnership with AFF and to be moving our headquarters to Birmingham,” said Devin Davie, CEO and co-founder of Office Exchange. “With the combination of the AFF partnership, a growing tech ecosystem in Alabama and phenomenal opportunities to disrupt the commercial real estate market, we expect this move to be catalytic to our growth.”
Through the Office Exchange platform, users can search by category, selecting properties based on intended use, geographic location and lease length options, as well as spaces that are furnished or unfurnished. After going through a verification process, hosts can list any available space and adjust availability, pricing and terms based on market conditions in real-time. Listings are free to the host and Office Exchange takes a small percentage of the rent and fees charged, allowing hosts on the platform to fill vacant spaces quickly and affordably.
The deal represents the 14th investment from AFF since the fund’s launch in 2018. As with previous AFF investments, Office Exchange is moving its headquarters to Alabama. AFF served as the lead investor on the round with participation from other U.S.-based investors. Redhawk Advisory, LLC serves as the investment manager of AFF and advised AFF on the investment.
