Flexible workspace operators leased 10.8 mn sq ft area in 2019: Report

Buoyed by technology adoption, increased occupancy rates and growing investments, the year 2019 saw co-working space leasing touching 10.8 mn sq. ft. in 2019, a new report has said.

The demand for flexible workspace would continue this year and leasing could touch 10-12 million sq ft, the report said.

Among the key markets, Bengaluru and Hyderabad accounted for about half of the flexible space take-up in India, CBRE South Asia Pvt. Ltd said in its report titled India Flexible Space Digest – 2019.

Increased inflow of funds was witnessed in 2019, with about $140 million of funding provided by angel investors/PE funds/debt funds, the report said.

The overall stock in flexible space market saw an increase of about 60 percent from about 19 million sq. ft. in 2018 to touch 30 million sq. ft. in 2019. The flexible space stock was mainly dominated by Bengaluru, followed by Delhi–NCR and Mumbai in 2019.

The CBRE report also highlighted that the uptake in the flexible space leasing in 2019 was dominated by hybrid spaces and managed space (77%) followed by co-working and business centres (23%).

"In today's dynamic & technology driven business environment, corporates are beginning to explore various workplace solutions which could result in capex reduction and increased agility of their RE portfolio in the sector. Given the overall performance of the sector, we expect the demand to remain steady with an overall stock of flexible space anticipated to cross 40 mn sq. ft. by the end of 2020," said Anshuman Magazine, Chairman and CEO, India, South East Asia, Middle East and Africa, CBRE.