Flex spaces boom as the office goes to the employee

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. India’s flexible space providers have reported a multifold surge in revenue since the pandemic as corporates joined startups and professionals in seeking alternative workspaces closer to employees instead of setting up large, traditional offices. Awfis Space Solutions, a publicly listed co-working space provider, saw its revenue from operations jump nearly fourfold from ₹178 crore in FY21 to nearly ₹849 crore in FY24, according to the company's IPO filings and annual report.

WeWork India’s revenue more than doubled from ₹800 crore in FY22 to ₹1,800 crore in FY24, according to numbers disclosed by CEO Karan Virwani in separate interviews to CNBC TV18 and PTI. IPO-bound IndiQube’s top-line grew from nearly ₹298 crore in FY21 to ₹841 crore in FY24. Mispras Furnishings Private Ltd (Urban Vault) saw its revenue rise from ₹10 crore in FY21 to ₹78 crore in FY24.

“After the pandemic, corporates wanted flexibility of space—like plug and play—so that they didn’t have to do the complete setup," said Pankaj Kapoor, founder and managing director at Liases Foras Real Estate Rating and Research Pvt Ltd. He also turned to a co-working space to expand his office. “If you didn’t require a bigger office or if your office was smaller than your requirement, these problems were solved by flex spaces," Kapoor said.