Episode Summary

“If these people have their own little standalone office somewhere, if they literally picked their office up and went to put it on the street outside, they would qualify for small business rates relief. But just because they’ve had the audacity to come and get an office in a coworking space, they’re going to lose that benefit.” - Roland Stanley

Unreasonable Connection Going Live! London, February 2026.

🎟️ Tickets go on sale in January 2026.

The entire day is co-created by the coworking community builders on the co-creation waitlist.

Roland Stanley is angry. Not performatively angry. Not LinkedIn-post angry. Actually angry.

The founder of Dragon Coworking in Rochester, Kent, has spent eight years building something real in a part of England that doesn’t make the tourism brochures.

He trained as a chef at Canterbury College, grafted in kitchens across France and London, then came home to help his dad run the St. George Hotel “for two weeks” — and stayed 20 odd years.

When a spare function room sat empty and eating business rates, someone mentioned coworking. Roland went up to London, saw what was possible, and asked a question that still drives him: Why can’t this work in Medway?

Dragon Coworking was born in 2017. The name came from a friend’s suggestion — St. George Hotel, St. George and the Dragon. It stuck.

What also stuck was Roland’s hospitality instinct: make people feel welcome, build relationships before asking for anything, treat your members like they’re part of something rather than just paying the bills.

But now that something is under threat. Then the Valuation Office Agency sent a letter.

The VOA has begun reclassifying coworking spaces in a way that strips Small Business Rate Relief from the micro-businesses inside them. Roland calls it an “extinction-level event” — and he’s not being dramatic.

In this episode, Bernie and Roland dig into what’s actually happening with the VOA reclassification, why the government is using an ATM legal precedent to justify treating freelancers like cash machines, and what the coworking industry needs to do right now to fight back.

Roland has already secured a meeting with his local MP, Lauren Edwards. Jane Sartin from FlexSA has a meeting with the relevant Minister in the diary. But they need numbers. They need noise. They need you.

If you run an independent coworking space, work from one, or supply software to them: this episode is your call to action.

Timeline Highlights

[00:00] Bernie’s urgent intro: “This is possibly the best opportunity I’ve seen for the whole UK coworking industry to unite.”

[02:06] Roland on what he wants to be known for: “Helping make people’s lives better. In a small way, that’s what I’d like to be known for.”

[02:17] Bernie’s warmth: “I think you’re doing okay. Whenever I mention your name, most people react quite positively.”

[02:53] The origin story: a spare function room at his dad’s hotel that was “eating business rates and just empty all the time.”

[03:54] Why it’s called Dragon: “St. George Hotel, so St. George and the Dragon. That’s where it originally came from.”

[04:16] Roland’s kitchen credentials: Canterbury College, City & Guilds, France for six months, then the London Clinic

[08:33] The authenticity principle: “Run a business that’s a reflection of who you are. Don’t try to run a false business.”

[11:07] How Dragon builds local perks without apps and gimmicks: “We’ll start liking their posts, get to know each other first, then go down and visit them.”

[12:04] The local economy philosophy: “We don’t want a discount. Perhaps just a bit of added value, like a free garlic bread at the local pizza place.”

[14:21] The “indie gang” of coworking operators: Teresa, Ewan, Karen, and John meeting up to share what’s working

[15:30] The one rule: “We’ve got a bit of an informal rule that we’re not allowed to talk about mugs in the sink.”

[18:12] Roland breaks down the VOA threat: offices that would qualify for relief on the street lose it “just because they’ve had the audacity” to join a coworking space

[19:02] The ATM precedent: “They’re trying to treat our members like ATMs.”

[19:47] Roland names it: “Extinction level event.”

[24:46] The immediate action: “Literally, Jane has done a wonderful toolkit about what to do.”

[25:20] Bernie’s challenge to software companies: “Perhaps all the software companies that we all spend lots of money with could help us out by shouting about it as well.”

Thematic Breakdown

The Chef Who Built a Kitchen for Freelancers

Roland Stanley came to coworking through the pass.

City & Guilds training at Canterbury College. Six months working in kitchens in France. A stint at the London Clinic. Eight years total in professional kitchens before he “managed to escape.” Hospitality isn’t a metaphor for Roland. It’s muscle memory. The instinct to make someone feel welcome, to exceed expectations without being asked, to read a room and respond.

When he describes how Dragon builds relationships with local businesses for their perks programme, you can hear the kitchen logic.

No cold outreach. No transactional asks. “We’ll start liking their posts, get to know each other first, then go down and visit them... quite often they’ll come to us and say, can we do something for you?”

That’s just how you treat people when you’ve spent years reading a dining room.

The Name You Remember

Bernie opens the episode, declaring Dragon Coworking “the best name for a coworking space ever in the world.” He’s not wrong.

The origin is accidental. Roland was going to call it “River Coworking” because it overlooked the River Medway. A friend pointed out the obvious: you’re inside the St. George Hotel. St. George and the Dragon. Done.

In a sector full of forgettable compounds — [Location] Works, [Something] Hub, The [Noun] — Dragon Coworking sticks. The name came from a friend’s offhand suggestion. That’s the story. And eight years later, it’s still the thing people remember.

The Indie Gang: What Real Peer Support Looks Like

One of the most valuable sections of this episode has nothing to do with business rates.

Roland describes how a small group of independent coworking operators — Teresa from Collaborate, Ewan, Karen from The Residence, and John from Freedom Works — started meeting up regularly.

No mastermind fees. No ten-grand-a-month coaching programme. Just dinner, conversation, and one rule: “We’re not allowed to talk about mugs in the sink.”

They share what’s working. They troubleshoot problems together. They’ve had “real lightbulb moments.” And crucially, they meet in person a couple of times a year while maintaining a WhatsApp group in between.

Reach out to the spaces in your area. Have a coffee. You’ll learn more than any course can teach you.

The Extinction-Level Event

Now to the reason Bernie opened this episode with unusual urgency.

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) has begun reclassifying coworking and serviced office spaces. Under the old model, individual offices within a space could be separately rated — meaning the small businesses inside them could claim Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR).

Under the new approach, the VOA treats the entire space as a single “hereditament,” making the operator liable for the building’s entire rates and removing SBRR from every business within.

The legal precedent they’re using? Cardtronics v Sykes [2020], a Supreme Court case on whether ATMs in supermarkets should be rated separately.

The court ruled no—the retailer retains ownership even though the bank operates the machine.

A rule designed for Tesco’s cash machines is now being used against two-person design agencies.

Roland’s response is visceral: “They’re trying to treat our members like ATMs.”

The wider industry context is alarming. Roland’s LinkedIn post on this issue cites one operator who has already received a backdated bill for £400,000. For independent spaces operating on thin margins in regional towns, this isn’t a cost increase — it’s closure.

Why This Is a Fight for Local Economies

Follow the logic.

A freelancer renting a standalone office on the high street qualifies for Small Business Rate Relief. That same freelancer, doing the same work, loses that relief the moment they join a coworking space. The only difference is location — and the “audacity” of wanting to work around other people.

This punishes exactly the behaviour the government claims to support: micro-businesses coming together, spending locally, employing people, growing.

These aren’t WeWork arbitrage plays. They’re graphic designers, consultants, and two-person agencies trying to build something in their own community.

There’s a class dimension here too. Roland’s a fourth-generation Medway business owner. He trained as a chef, not an MBA. His members are freelancers and micro-agencies, not venture-backed startups.

The VOA rule favours those with capital buffers — the big chains who can absorb or structure around these costs — and punishes those without.

As Roland puts it: “These guys are the lifeblood of this country. These are the ones actually out there working, paying taxes, employing people. These are the guys that will grow eventually.”

What Needs to Happen Now

Jane Sartin from FlexSA has been working on this since March 2025, initially hoping to resolve it quietly. That’s no longer possible. The campaign is now public, and there’s a meeting with the relevant Minister in the diary.

But individual operators need to act. Roland’s advice is direct:

* Contact your local MP — Jane has a toolkit with templates

* Request a meeting to explain what’s actually happening

* Personalise the template letter so it stands out

* If you supply software, chairs, locks, or coffee to coworking spaces, use your platforms to amplify this

Roland has already secured a meeting with his MP, Lauren Edwards. Karen from The Residence met with Josh Dean MP. The momentum is building, but it needs critical mass.

This is a chance for the entire UK coworking industry — fragmented across a dozen labels and definitions — to unite around a common cause.

If Jane from FlexSA can walk into a ministerial meeting and say “I have 50,000 letters from across the country,” the conversation changes.

Roland says the VOA “doesn’t really understand what we do as an industry.” They see offices inside offices and assume it’s a rates dodge. They don’t see the freelancer who was drowning at home. They don’t see the three-person agency that grew from a hot desk to a permanent office.

This fight is about making the case — for the first time at scale — that independent coworking spaces are civic infrastructure. The VOA crisis is terrible. It’s also an opportunity to finally be seen.

🔗 Links & Resources

Roland & Dragon Coworking

* Dragon Coworking — Roland’s space in Rochester, Kent

* Roland Stanley on LinkedIn

* Roland’s post: ‘Is coworking about to suffer an extinction-level event?’ ☄️

* Nexudus — The membership software Dragon uses for bookings, invoices, and perks

Business Rates Campaign

* FlexSA (Flexible Space Association) — Jane Sartin’s organisation leading the fight

* Jane Sartin on LinkedIn

* FlexSA ‘Engaging Your MP on Business Rates and Flexible Workspaces’

* Write to Your MP — Enter your postcode, get your MP’s details

* Cardtronics v Sykes [2020] UKSC 21 — The legal precedent the VOA is using

Projects & Community

* Join this and other conversations with people in the LinkedIn Coworking Group

* Unreasonable Connection Monthly online gatherings for Coworking Community Builders.

* Workspace Design Show London 2026

* European Coworking Day May 2026

* London Coworking Assembly

* European Coworking Assembly

Bernie’s Projects

* London Coworking Assembly 5-Day AI Crash Course for Coworking Spaces

* Connect with Bernie on LinkedIn

🧠 One More Thing

Coworking brings communities together, helping people find and share their voices.

Each episode of the Coworking Values Podcast explores Accessibility, Community, Openness, Collaboration, and Sustainability—values that shape the spaces where we gather, work, and grow.

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Community is the key 🔑

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