Global Co-Working office space provider ‘WeWork India’ has taken on lease about 2.5 lakh sq ft of office space across Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Gurugram. The deal was done by the company in order to expand its arm in India’s commercial real estate market.
According to company sources, the group has leased 96,500 sq ft in Blue One Square in Udyog Vihar, Gurugram, 90,484 sq ft in Mumbai and 60,783 sq ft in Purva Pavilion in Bengaluru.
Karan Virwani, chief executive officer at WeWork India said, “The leases have a total tenure of 20 years, including an initial term of 10 years with an option to extend it by another 10 years unlike usual tenures of three, five or nine years. With our rapid expansion, we are continuing our journey towards opening more spaces that inspire people to be creators, and foster the spirit of collaboration,”
He further said that traditional office setups include exorbitant real estate expenses amounting to 9-12% of overall operating costs whereas shared, flexible spaces can save 20-25% of real estate costs. India will emerge as one of the largest markets for shared workspaces in the coming years.
Last month only, WeWork India had acquired 0.5 million sq ft of office space by a co-working company across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and Bengaluru. This deal is considered as the largest transaction till date. The company is also planning to double their seating across Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru, in order to reach 35,000 desks by the end of the year.
Co-working is a western style of work that involves a shared workplace, often an office, and independent activity. Co-working helps companies to save on other operational costs such as IT infrastructure, fitments, housekeeping, broadband connectivity etc. In India, the trend of coworking space is increasing at a faster pace. Many startups and other small companies prefer co-working spaces to conventional office spaces due to lower rentals thereby saving operational cost too.