Co-working firm Awfis plans to double office centres to 200 this year

These numbers are expected to grow to 8 mn sq ft and 1,20,000 seats in 18 cities by the end of 2022, he said.

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Of the 100 new centres, 80 percent would be under the profit-share revenue model, where the landlords would invest the capital towards fit-outs.

“We will be required to put in our own capital only for 20 percent of the centres,” he said.

The company’s 100th centre in Bengaluru is among the most sought-after Grade-A commercial real estate property, he said.

Branded ‘Awfis One’, the centre is located in Lido Mall, Bengaluru and is spread across 70,000 sq ft with 15,000 seats to cater to the increasing demand for flexible workspaces.

“We are looking at 10 alternative assets that will become part of our expansion plans from 100 to 200 centres,” Ramani said.

As for Awfis’ tenant mix, 40 percent were small and medium enterprises (SMEs), 50 percent corporates and enterprises and 10 percent startups and freelancers, he said.

Before the coronavirus outbreak, a combination of SMEs and startups accounted for 60 percent of the business and 30 percent came from corporate enterprises, he said.

From 5,800 desks across 20 centers in July 2017, the company had grown to over 62,000 desks across 100 centers in 14 cities.

After expanding to Ahmedabad, Indore and Bhubaneswar, the company would open centres in Lucknow, Kochi and Coimbatore in 2022.

India’s co-working space is expected to double over the next five years at a CAGR of 15 percent, a CII-ANAROCK report said in December 2021. Approximately 35 mn sq ft of flexible office stock is available across the country, with around 3.7 lakh seats spread across major Tier I and Tier II cities of India, it said.