Best remote working spaces in Portsmouth

Here are some of The Business Magazine's top recommendations for place to work remotely in Portsmouth:

Remote working, distance working, working from home, telecommuting, agile working, mobile working, flexible working… Whatever you call it, we can all agree that the idea of an organisation’s employees converging to all work in one workplace every day is something of an outdated one.

Covid-19 - and the restrictions brought in by the world’s governments surrounding it - certainly sped up what already looked to be becoming a trend. More and more workers are rejecting the idea of spending five days a week in the office. And more and more businesses are appreciating the benefits of a flexible workforce that works part or all of their time ‘at home’.

Whether remote workers have a dedicated office room at home or not, only a minority are happy to spend 40 hours a week entirely by themselves. Around four in five people who work from home report fears of loneliness. Isolation is a concern.

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What’s the answer? Well, there is a middle ground. Of course, that may simply be a mixture of distance working and working from the office. Or, alternatively, it could involve remote working. Just not from home.

If you find that you’re a little tired of the same four walls when you work from home, you might like to visit your local coffee shop for an afternoon. Places like that - or even internet cafes - can be useful for breaking up the day or week.

But if you find yourself working at home to such a degree that even the odd afternoon spent with an Americano and muffin isn’t enough to distract you from your house, you may want to explore more professional remote working options.

Innovation Connect

Location: University of Portsmouth

Portsmouth University is a very modern institution, boasting all sorts of facilities, schemes, programs and technology. All of which make it a great place to learn. The community benefits from all this too, though. The uni’s ‘Innovation Connect’, for instance, offers small business and remote workers affordable space from just £10 an hour, £30 a day or £95 a month.

Cell Block Studios is in Portsmouth’s historic dockyard (it's actually within the old naval prison) and offers a particularly unique space for digital creative businesses and workers.

Halpern House is a little more traditional in terms of what you'd expect from office space and can be found in the city centre. As is Portsmouth Technopole, a modern space with all mod cons found close to the M275.

With all three venues you're able to hire a full desk and share the room with another business/worker or hire the whole office (or 'cell') as your office alone. You can even hot desk from any of the communal areas like the break out areas and meeting rooms.

Expect desk space, high speed broadband, a chair, monitor, docking station and full use of the communal areas, meeting rooms and facilities.

In their words: “You can hot desk, or rent a full desk or office space in 3 of our Innovation Connect locations. Our hotdesking packages are flexible with hourly, daily or monthly options available. Becoming a member also gives you exclusive access to the Future Technology Centre at the University, our newest location, which is perfect for holding meetings or conferences.”

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Port 57

Location: Southsea

In the heart of Southsea, close to the coast, you'll find the 'co-working studio' Port 57. It's not huge (there are a few fixed desks and 10 hotdesks), but it's comfortable, well-equipped, friendly and affordable.

£230 a month secures your own dedicated desk, with 24/7 access. For the more casual remote worker, the monthly plans are what you need. Port 57 offers four different plans, all based on usage. 15 hours access a month costs £45, 30 hours is £80, while £100 buys you 40 hours. 80 hours a month can be purchased for £175. These prices include unlimited meeting room space.

If you want to just drop in and use a desk for an hour, half day or full day, you can book hotdesking online. It's £20 per visit, whether you're there for half an hour or all day.

In their words: “Flexible hot desk plans and dedicated desks at your home from home in Southsea. Check real-time availability for our meeting space and request and manage bookings online or even have your own permanent space at Port 57 with 24/7 access.”

The Tech Dojo

Location: Buckland

As with the other options here, the technology-focused Tech Dojo (the clue's in the name) offer both dedicated desks and hotdesking within their co-working space.

One major thing that sets The Tech Dojo apart is their additional services provision. Back end support is available for help with tax, accounting, payroll, invoicing and credit control services available. There are even mentoring and business coaching schemes on offer. All of which are quite unusual offerings, even from the larger workspace companies.

Even more atypical is that the company states on their website that they are actively seeking venture capital and seed funding opportunities and ask any start-ups needing investment to speak to them about it.

In their words: “The Tech Dojo is a flexible co-working space for techie entrepreneurs who are looking to take their concept to the next stage. We have a free creative lounge with awesome internet and awesome coffee, and offer flexible breakfast bar desks for the ones hot desking, through to dedicated offices for the ones looking to take over the world.”

The Host Space

Location: St Luke’s Church, Greetham St, Southsea

Perhaps rivalling the old naval prison in terms of odd spots to work from, The Host Space in Southsea is inside a church which claims to be Portsmouth’s oldest building. The facilities may not be quite what you might expect from a modern office environment, but it's surprisingly welcoming, comfortable and trendy inside The Host.

The prices are quite incredible too. Just £5 gives you half day access, with only £2 extra allowing you in for a full day. Pay £50 a month and you’re allowed inside to work as many times as you like. Use of the high-speed Wi-Fi is included and the (unlimited) tea and coffee is costed into the price as well.

Familiar faces, regular community events and the odd development workshop mean you can get a sense of belonging, a change of scenery, a relaxing space AND all the hot drinks your belly can handle. All on a flexible basis and for a jaw-droppingly low price.

In their words: “More than just a place to work. The Host is a community of people working alongside each other. We started up in 2019 with a vision to offer an alternative way of working. We figured you might do 80% of your work solitarily, but we don’t all thrive on our own.”

“We’re a coworking space that is committed to learning and growing. That means we listen to our community and develop our space, resources and events in line with their needs.”

Whether you plan to secure your own desk and make it a semi-permanent home from home (or office from office), or you’d just like the option to hotdesk on occasion, there are plenty of possibilities. These are just some of Portsmouth’s best remote working options. If you’re local, try them out. And tell them we sent you!