Demand for Co-working space rising

Mumbai: Co-working space or flexible office where freelancers and professionals from multiple companies work simultaneously under a common roof is gaining ground in India.

According to property consultant JLL, the rise of the millennial and a vibrant start-up eco system are some of the key factors contributing to this trend in the country.

The potential market size of co-working space across India is expected to reach 13.5 million users by 2020 about half of which will be from enterprises, which are expected to take up 10.3 million seats.

Freelancers and SMEs are expected to contribute 1.5 million users worth of demand, while it is anticipated that startups will demand upto 1 lakh seats by 2020.

It noted that the top six cities will require an estimated 5 million seats in co-working spaces, while, 8.5 million of the projected demand will be in Tier 2 and 3 cities.

The demand for flexible offices – including co-working spaces and serviced offices is growing faster in the Asia Pacific than anywhere else in the world. The region’s stock of flexible floor space is growing at 35.7 per cent per year compared to 25.7 per cent in the US and 21.6 per cent in Europe.

India, it is expected to growth at 40-50 per cent in 2018. “By the end of the year, we anticipate flexible workplaces would attract investment upto $400 mn. With over 200 premium business centers across the country, set to double by 2020, co-working spaces will reflect the global trend of being closer to 20 per cent of total workspace”, said Sandeep Sethi, MD, integrated facilities management, West Asia, JLL.

By 2030, flexible workspace is expected to comprise 30 per cent of corporate commercial property portfolios worldwide. Most of the corporates in India are in experimentation phases as they want to better understand the challenges before adopting the model.