WeWork India leases over 1.4 lakh sq ft office space in Bengaluru, Noida

Co-working firm WeWork India has added 2,400-plus seats and over 1.4 lakh sq ft space to its portfolio with two new offices in Noida and Bengaluru

Flexible workspace provider WeWork India has leased two new office spaces spanning 1.4 lakh square feet cumulatively across Noida and Bengaluru, the company said in a statement on July 25.

Co-working firm WeWork India has leased over 1.4 lakh square feet office space in Bengaluru and Noida(WeWork India)

The two facilities which are set to open within the next three months will add 2,400-plus seats to the company's portfolio.

WeWork 37 Cunningham in Bengaluru is a four-story workspace with over 1,000 desks spread across more than 60,000 square feet, per the company statement. Meanwhile WeWork Galaxy Business Park in Noida's Sector 62 is a two-floor facility sprawling 70,000 square feet and housing over 1,400 seats.

“Both Bengaluru and Noida have growing business sectors with multinational companies from diverse industries. There is a clear demand for flexible workspaces that offer a dynamic work environment for enterprises, professionals, freelancers, and startups to connect and collaborate,” said Arnav S Gusain, Chief of Supply, WeWork India.

WeWork India is operated by Bengaluru-headquartered real estate player the Embassy Group which holds over 70% stake in the company. Since the brand's entry into India in 2017, it has expanded its footprint to over 8 million square feet across 57 locations in eight cities.

Rising trajectory of flexible office segment across India

The flexible office space segment in India has demonstrated an upward trajectory following the Covid-19 pandemic, gaining increasing market share within the larger commercial real estate sector. Large enterprises too have shifted gears in favour of this category amid adoption of a hybrid work culture.

According to a June 2024 report by property consultancy Colliers, the flexible office space segment across the top six cities in India registered its highest ever quarterly demand in the April-June period at 2.6 million square feet. Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR alone accounted for 65% of this demand.

“Flex operators have already leased about 4.4 million square feet of space in H1 2024, underscoring the occupiers’ continued preference for flex spaces,” said Vimal Nadar, who is a senior director and head of research at Colliers India.

Some key demands from flexible workspace providers in India from the Budget for financial year 2024-25 included lowering the Goods and Services Tax rate for small-scale clients, integration with special economic zones and reinstatement of the input tax credit provision within the GST regime. However, these did not come through.