The Rising Demand For Co-working Spaces In India

The demand for co-working space has increased substantially over the last couple of years.

Following the pandemic, this new asset class for workspaces began to emerge, and it is now already considered an option for the companies, particularly those returning to the office. In India, the potential market size for co-working is estimated to be between $12-16 million. Startups, hybrid workers, freelance entrepreneurs, SMEs and remote workers are the ones that prefer the co-working solution.

With many startups on the rise, co-working spaces have aided in setting up their businesses. They get the flexibility that comes with shared resources at work and the ability to network more effectively through co-working.

A recent poll suggests that 65% of Indians believe co-working and hybrid work models are the future of the commercial industry.

Who are the key players in the market for co-working spaces?

There are many established co-working operators in this industry, viz 91 springboard, Smartworks, WeWork, Awfis, Innova8, The Hive and Regus: with many new aspiring operators entering the market.

For instance, Smartworks, an Indian co-working operator, plans to build approximately 20 million sq ft of co-working space with approximately 2.5 lakh seats over the next 4 years.

Similarly, Awfis partnered with Prestige Group to expand 12 centers across?5 lakh square feet for a total investment of Rs. 110 crores. They have recently opened a center in Bengaluru with over 860 seats.

According to the analysis, the co-working segment's proportion of gross office leasing has risen from 8.1 percent in 2020 to 9.4 percent in 2021. It is expected that approximately 5 million people will work in co-working spaces by the year 2024.?