On Tuesday, co-working operator, Awfis said, it has partnered with Blackstone group firm, Nucleus Office Parks for a new centre in Mumbai with a seating capacity of 450.
In a statement, Awfis said, it has opened its first premium category centre, ‘Awfis Gold’ in Mumbai, launched in partnership with Nucleus Office Parks, the operating platform for fully-owned Blackstone offices in India.
The centre is spread across 27,000 square feet with 450 seats and is located at One International Center, Lower Parel.
Awfis Founder & CEO, Amit Ramani said, “Given the rising demand of co-working spaces, Awfis Gold will emerge as the premium partner of choice for enterprises and CXOs who are now looking towards a hybrid model of working.” Currently, Awfis has 10 Gold centres spread across 3.5 lakh square feet in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai.
Plans for further expansion
Awfis has 131 centres and 77,500 seats across 14 cities and plans to expand to 200 centres by the end of 2022.
The demand for managed office spaces in co-working centres has improved last year as corporates want flexibility.
Recently, real estate consultant, CBRE came out with a survey suggesting that 75 per cent of office space occupiers are evaluating hybrid working models as their real estate strategy.
Around 78 per cent of the occupiers surveyed have underlined employee health and well-being as the most important element while facilitating return to office.
Anshuman Magazine, Chairman & CEO – India, South-East Asia, Middle East, and Africa, CBRE said, “Return to Office for several corporates in India is already underway, with varying occupancies currently observed across cities, as well as sectors.” With the widespread adoption of hybrid working since Covid, he said, many companies are considering the degree of flexibility needed to enhance employee productivity and connectivity.
Property consultant, Colliers and co-working marketplace, Qdesq, in a joint report said, flex workspace stock would rise to 60.8 million square feet in metro and non-metro cities by 2023 from 43.8 million square feet at the end of September 2021.
There are more than 3,000 co-working centres across major cities.
In India, the major co-working, including managed office space, operators are WeWork, Awfis, Smartworks, The Executive Centre, Simpliwork Offices, 91Springboard, Skootr Global. and The Office Pass, among others.
Published on
July 12, 2022
