WeWork India expands into Chennai with 1.3 lakh sq ft lease

Coworking major WeWork India on Tuesday said it has entered Chennai market and has taken on lease 1.3 lakh square feet of office space in Chennai to open a new centre with a capacity of 2,000 desks.

In a statement, Bengaluru-based WeWork India said, it has taken on lease over 1,30,000 square feet of office space in the commercial building 'Olympia Cyberspace' developed by Olympia Group.

The new centre, having a total capacity of more than 2,000 desks, will be operational in June.

Karan Virwani, CEO, WeWork India, said the company will be opening its first flexible workspace in Chennai, a city known for its vibrant culture, urban population, and rapidly growing business ecosystem.

"We are witnessing a continued surge in demand for flexible workspaces across India," he added.

As organisations rapidly return to work from offices, Virwani said there is a growing need for flexible and customisable workspaces that can facilitate hybrid or full-time work models.

"With a strong pipeline of deals, we are excited to expand our presence into Chennai, with a focus on creating a range of custom solutions suited for diverse businesses," he said.

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WeWork India now has a presence across eight cities - New Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Chennai and Hyderabad. At present, it has 54 coworking centres with over 90,000 desks across seven cities.

In the southern region, the company has 27 locations and over 44,500 desks across Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

Chandrakant Kankaria, Joint MD, Olympia Group, said the building is strategically located near the metro station, parks, hotels, and F&B hubs.

"We are delighted to have WeWork India in Olympia Cyberspace, and are confident that they will further elevate and redefine the flexible workspace sector in the city," he said.

In WeWork India, Bengaluru-based real estate firm Embassy Group has a 73 per cent stake, while WeWork Global has a 27 per cent shareholding.

WeWork India has been operational since 2017. Currently, it has an 8 million square feet area in its portfolio.

In its recent report, real estate consultant Vestian highlighted that around 8 lakh seats are available with flexible space operators spread across more than 1,000 centres in India.

There are 50 major flexible space operators while the top 10 players hold 84 per cent of the total flexible office space portfolio, the report said.

Vestian report stated that flexible office spaces broadly include dedicated desks, hot desking, co-working spaces, and serviced and managed office spaces.