India is witnessing growth in demand for flexible workspaces. There are about 500 flexible workspace operators in India now and the country has emerged as one of the key flexible workspace markets, primarily driven by demand for co-working and managed office solutions from various large enterprises, corporates, MNCs, SMEs and MSMEs, as well as start-ups that may also be evaluating flexible workspace solutions, while reviewing their ‘Core+Flex’ strategies.
Flexible workspace stock addition by operators has witnessed growth over the years, where 18-22 million sq ft of stock was added in 2024. The share of flexible workspaces stock in non-SEZ occupied office stock across Tier I cities has increased from 7-9 per cent in 2020 to 14-16 per cent by end CY2024.
Features and benefits such as flexibility, capital efficiency, cost optimisation, employee well-being and operational outsourcing are some of the key demand drivers of flexible workspace solutions amongst both start-ups and enterprises. Through a widespread network of centres across the country and, with the assistance of various in-house or aggregator-owned hybrid digital products, leading flexible workspace operators may have possessed the ability to support various organisations in a more effective implementation of their hybrid and distributed working policies.
The demand for flexible workspaces is not only driven by end-users signing new contracts with flexible workspace operators; it has also moved up by their extending or renewing some of the existing contracts on a need basis, wherever viable.
Commercial properties in Tier I cities accounted for 90-95 per cent of the total available commercial office space stock in India as on 31 March 2025. The 28 key clusters identified across Tier I cities account for about 80 per cent of the total flexible workspace stock in these cities (Source: CBRE Report).
India is one of the largest flexible workspaces markets in APAC with a total stock of over 72 million sq ft in Tier I cities as on H1 CY2024 (Source: CBRE Report) across the top nine cities. The Top Tier II cities include Chandigarh, Jaipur, Lucknow, Coimbatore, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Vishakhapatnam, Ahmedabad, Indore and Bhubaneshwar.
Fund-raising spree
Awfis Space Solutions, a flexible workspace solutions company in India, has completed its book building public issue of Rs598.93 crore in May 2024. Its IPO price band, set at Rs383 per share, has become Rs629 per share, as on 4 July 2025, while the market cap has almost doubled to about Rs4,484 crore.
Smartworks Co-working’s IPO opens for subscription on 10 July 2025 and closes on 14 July 2025. The allotment for its IPO is expected to be finalised on 15 July 2025. The IPO will be listed on BSE and NSE and 17 July 2025 has been fixed as a tentative listing date.
IndiQube Spaces is planning to open its IPO of about Rs700 crore soon -- most probably in Q2 itself. WeWork India too has filed its initial IPO papers and is reportedly eyeing a valuation of over Rs12,000 crore. The Executive Centre (TEC), one of the largest multi-national flexible workspace providers, plans to expand its presence in India. TEC’s global network of success spans Greater China, Southeast Asia, North Asia, India, Sri Lanka, the Middle East and Australia, with plans to go further and grow faster. As part of its strategic expansion plan in India, TEC is reportedly aiming to invest over Rs180 crore in this year, to establish new centres in Mumbai, Pune and Bengaluru. The company plans to add close to 400,000 sq ft in 2025 at an investment of about Rs200 crore, as Indian market has continued to outperform.
Table Space, the Bengaluru-based top premium managed workspace provider, which is backed by global private equity fund Hillhouse Capital, has also kicked off the process of floating an IPO in 2025, say sources. It plans to raise upwards of Rs3,500 crore and the deal is expected to be a combination of primary and secondary issue of shares at a targeted valuation of about $2.5 billion.
Smartworks Co-working Spaces is an office experience and managed campus platform. As on 31 March 2024, it was the largest managed campus operator amongst the benchmarked operators in terms of total stock, with a lease signed portfolio of 8 million sq ft. It has leased and managed a total SBA of 8.99 million sq ft as of 31 March 2025.
“We strive to make enterprises and their employees in India more productive at work by providing value-centric pricing and superior office experience vis-à-vis traditional workspaces, with access to enhanced services and amenities,” says Neetish Sarda, MD, Smartworks. “We focus on mid-to-large enterprises and have built a growing client base, which includes Indian corporates, MNCs operating in India and start-ups. We equip our campuses with modern and aesthetically pleasing designs, using our extensive design library, integrated proprietary technology solutions and amenities, such as cafeterias, sport zones, smart convenience stores, gymnasiums, crèches and medical centres. Some of these amenities take care of the daily needs of the employees of our clients, while others are aspirational in nature, leading to collaborative workspace and team building. These aspects are likely to enhance well-being, fostering a vibrant and engaging work atmosphere”, he adds.
Smartworks has a diverse client base, which includes Indian corporates and MNCs, such as Google IT Services India, L&T Technology Services, Bridgestone India, Philips Global Business Services, Persistent Systems, Billionbrains Garage Ventures (Groww) and MakeMyTrip (India).
Many of their Clients have long-term contractual arrangements across multiple locations. Smartworks’ managed campus platform consists of a total SBA of 8.99 million sq ft across 50 centres in 15 cities, such as Bengaluru (Karnataka), Pune (Maharashtra), Hyderabad (Telangana), Gurugram (Haryana), Mumbai (Maharashtra), Noida (Uttar Pradesh) and Chennai (Tamil Nadu), with 203,118 capacity seats, as of 31 March 2025.
As on 30 June 2025, Smartworks signed non-binding letters of intent and MoUs with landlords for an additional SBA of 1.46 million sq ft across three centres in Pune (Maharashtra), Kolkata (West Bengal -- partially handed over; 0.02 million sq ft has been excluded) and Mumbai (Maharashtra). As on 30 June 2025, it has signed term sheets with landlords in Gurugram for a centre with a total SBA of 450,000 sq ft under the variable rental business model, of which SBA of 33,504 sq ft area has been operationalized, pursuant to agreements entered into by the company with the landlord and each of the respective clients. As on 31 March 2025, its operational centres have served 738 clients occupying 152,619 seats. Further, as on 30 June 2025, it had 728 clients with 169,541 seats, out of which 12,044 seats were yet to be occupied at its operational centres by the clients.
Preferred locations
Smartworks has also taken two centres in Singapore on lease, with a total SBA of 35,036 sq ft to serve 83 clients, as on 30 June 2025. India is moving towards becoming one of the preferred locations for offices of GCCs and multi-national corporations.
Singapore has emerged as one of the preferred locations for corporate headquarters, with the highest number of completed regional headquarters in the past 10 years in Asia Pacific (2014-23), says CBRE Report. “Our presence in Singapore provides us the opportunity to explore further business opportunities in both India and Singapore”, says Harsh Binani, ED, Smartworks. The company caters to clients’ needs of all team sizes, from under 50 to over 6,300 seats, with a specific focus on mid-to-large enterprises having a requirement of over 300 seats.
The company launched value-added services (VAS) in 2022-23, whereby, through revenue sharing arrangement with its service partners, it offered services like cafeterias, sport zones, smart convenience stores, gymnasiums, crèches and medical centres. Some of its service partners include Chaipoint (Mountain Trail Foods), Park+ (Parviom Technologies), ClearTax (Defmacro Software), Nutritap Technologies and CloudKitch.
It also launched fit-out-as-a-service (FaaS) in 2024. “Under FaaS, we utilise our extensive design library and vendor network to provide tailored design and build solutions for customers’ offices with advance payments from such customers,” explains Sarda. “VAS and FaaS, ancillary businesses that serve as monetising opportunities with our existing clients, also help us to engage with new clients through these offerings. They are asset-light businesses for us, considering the low capital investment and minimal upfront capital deployment, which are margin-accretive.”
Smartworks’ strengths
• Market leadership backed by scale and steady growth;
• ability to lease and transform entire/ large properties across India’s key office clusters into amenities rich ‘Smartworks’ branded campuses;
• focus on acquiring enterprise clients with higher seat requirements, as well as emerging mid to large enterprises and grow with them;
• execution capabilities backed by cost efficiencies, effective processes and technology infrastructure;
• financial acumen and strategic execution abilities make the company capital efficient, resulting in saving equity on capital expenditure and working capital; and
• risk mitigating strategy allows it to build a financially stable business model.
Strategies envisaged
• It intends to capitalise market leadership, learnings and expertise to further scale core business;
• enhances capital efficiency through variable rental business model and managed contracts;
• scales up new revenue streams, which are margin-accretive;
• continues to build proprietary technology to improve operational efficiency and create opportunities for monetization; and
• plans to become a sustainable company.
The net proceeds of the offer is proposed to be utilised by the company for repayment or prepayment in full or in part of certain borrowings availed by it. Also, it plans to use a part of the funds to meet capital expenditure for fit-outs in the new centres and for security deposits of the new centres.
IndiQube Spaces, a managed workplace solutions company, also offers comprehensive, sustainable and technology-driven workplace solutions, dedicated to transforming the traditional office experience. Led by promoters Rishi Das, Meghna Agarwal and Anshuman Das, it has an experienced management, with entrepreneurial track record since 1999. Its diverse solutions range from providing large corporate offices (hubs: main offices of clients, wherein key functions, leadership teams, and primary operations are based, and is typically located in a central or strategic area) to small branch offices (spokes: smaller, decentralised office spaces of clients, spread across different cities or regions) for enterprises. It transforms the workplace experience of the employees by combining interiors, amenities and a host of value-added services, which are incremental to the workspace leasing provided by the company, It also comprises amenities, green initiatives, designed interiors, B2B and B2C solutions ranging from facility management, sale of goods, asset maintenance and plantation to catering, and transportation services for the employees of clients and technology applications, through contracts with clients occupying the space within our centers or third-party clients (VAS).
IndiQube complements its solutions through backward and forward integration capabilities. While backward integration focuses on asset renovation, upgradation and customised build-to-suit models, forward integration enables us to provide business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-customer (B2C) VAS to clients and the employees. These, coupled with their core offering of plug and play offices, enable us to serve the workspace value chain comprehensively.
IndiQube manages a portfolio of 115 centres across 15 cities, consisting of 105 operational centres and 10 centres for which it has executed letters of intent, covering 8.40 million sq ft of area under management (AUM) in super built-up area (SBA), with a total seating capacity of 186,719 as of 31 March 2025. It expanded portfolio by 3.46 million sq ft of AUM, with the addition of 41 properties and five new cities between 31 March 2023 and 31 March 2025. In Bengaluru, it has a portfolio of 65 centres, spanning 5.43 million sq ft in AUM as on 31 March 2025.
“Bengaluru is the largest commercial office and flexible workspace market of India, accounting for over 30 per cent of the total flexible workspace stock amongst Tier I cities,” affirms Rishi Das, chairman, ED & CEO, IndiQube. “We are amongst the leading operators in Bengaluru as of 31 March 2025, according to the CBRE Report. Our supply acquisition strategy prioritises acquiring full buildings in high-demand micro-markets with robust infrastructure connectivity, low vacancy rates, and strong talent catchments. This targeted approach ensures the long-term relevance of our offerings while enabling us to scale rapidly.”
IndiQube partners with landlords to not only lease new properties, but also transform non-institutional and aging Grade B properties into high-quality, green and modern workspaces. “We upgrade these properties by integrating interiors, amenities, technology, and sustainability initiatives,” explains Das. “As of 31 March 2025, such renovated properties comprise 2.48 million sq ft (29.57 per cent) of our total portfolio. Our demand strategy of ‘enterprise- first’ focusses on partnering with businesses seeking scalable, customisable and on-demand workspaces of large sizes for a long tenure. As of 31 March 2025, clients with over 300 seats, account for 63.06 per cent of our total portfolio with an average lock-in of 36 months. Brand ‘IndiQube’ stands at the core of our business enabling us to serve 769 clients, as on 31 March 2025, of which 59.56 per cent were acquired directly by us.”
“We feel the credibility of our brand is demonstrated by global capability centres (GCCs) comprising 43.56 per cent of our clientele as of 31 March 2025,” adds Meghna Agarwal, COO & ED, IndiQube. “Further, the remaining 56.44 per cent of our clientele, as on 31 March 2025, comprises Indian enterprises. This, to us, demonstrates a balanced portfolio that bridges the needs of domestic businesses and multi-national corporations”.
IndiQube has categorised workspace solutions into different business segments, catering to clients within and outside the ecosystem of leased properties. At the core of its offerings is ‘IndiQube Grow’, which serves as its solution for providing plug and play workspaces that incorporate interiors, technology, facility management and VAS. IndiQube Grow represents a holistic workplace solution, encompassing the essential elements required by enterprises. To service specialised client requirements, the company has developed four additional verticals that extend and complement its core offering -- IndiQube Bespoke, IndiQube One, MiQube and IndiQube Cornerstone.
IndiQube’s client base comprises mid-to-large enterprise clients, with a focus on those requiring scalable solutions across multiple centers and cities. Its clients include GCCs, Indian corporates, unicorns as well as start-ups across sectors, such as information technology/ IT-enabled services, manufacturing, automotives, engineering, aviation, banking, financial services & insurance, consulting, e-commerce, educational technology, logistics, pharmaceuticals and healthcare. The brands include Myntra, upGrad, Zerodha, NoBroker, redBus, JusPay, Moglix, Perfios, MG, Enphase, Siemens, Ninjacart, Narayana Health, Allegis, Mettler Toledo, Visonet, etc, to name a few.
IndiQube’s plus points
• It is one of the leading players in the large and growing flexible workspace market in India;
• its acquisition strategy is focussed on value creation and demand-driven locations;
• it has prudent business management practices, with strong operational metrics;
• its model is capital-efficient, with resilience and comprehensive risk mitigation;
• it has experienced leadership and prominent investor base; and
• it is focussed on fostering an ecosystem of green buildings.
Plans
• IndiQube intends to expand area under management by balancing market presence and micro market penetration;
• it wants to enhance its average revenue per square feet through an integrated workspace solutions ecosystem;
• it will strive to become a preferred workspace outsourcing solutions partner for enterprises;
• it will scale indiqube bespoke and offer comprehensive office interiors solutions; and
• expand ‘sustainability as a service’ offerings;
• while also leveraging technology to expand client-base.
The company proposes to utilise the funds towards funding the capital expenditure towards establishment of new centers; repayment/ pre-payment, in full or in part, of certain borrowings availed by the company.
WeWork India management
Majority-owned and promoted by Embassy Group, a real estate developer in India, WeWork India has a portfolio of more than 85 million sq ft of commercial real estate and is the sponsor of Embassy REIT, India’s first REIT and Asia’s largest office REIT by leasable area, says the CBRE Report. One of the few flexible workspace operators in India backed by a major real estate developer, it also benefits from its relationship with WeWork Global, a global flexible workspaces operator with about 600 wholly-owned and licensed locations in 35 countries. It is the exclusive licensee of the WeWork Brand in India.
Launched in 2017, WeWork India Management, a leading premium flexible workspace operator in India, has been the largest operator by total revenue in the past three fiscals (Source: DRHP dated January 2025). It is a category-defining, aspirational brand in India, with a loyal customer base, according to AGR. It has played a significant role in the growth of the flexible workspace sector in India and has been a key contributor for the evolution of flexible workspace products and services.
WeWork India provides flexible, high-quality workspaces to customers (who are referred to as members) which include companies of all sizes: large enterprises, small and mid-size businesses, startups, as well as individuals. It established multi-asset relationships with various prominent developers across major Tier I cities, according to the CBRE Report. It leases primarily Grade A office space from such developers and design, build, and operate them as flexible workspaces as per global standards. As at 30 June 2024, about 93 per cent (5.87 million sq ft) of its portfolio was in Grade A developments, informs the CBRE Report. With one of the most extensive range of product and services, it offers flexibility to members by providing adaptable terms that allow companies to scale their workspace as their needs evolve. The strength of their brand and offerings along with the global network that it is a part of as the exclusive licensee of the WeWork Brand in India, has helped it to attract and develop long-term relationships with global marquee brands, including Amazon Web Services India, JP Morgan Services India, Discovery Communications India, Deutsche Telekom Digital Labs, CBA Services and Grant Thornton Bharat.
As at 30 September 2024, the company’s portfolio comprised 94,440 desks across 59 operational centres with an aggregate leasable area for operational centres of 6.48 million sq ft.
As a premium flexible workspace operator, the company’s average portfolio level revenue to rent multiple of 2.7 for the six months ended 30 June 2024 exceeded the industry average range of 1.9 to 2.5, according to the CBRE Report. For the six months ended 30 September 2024, its net ARPM and revenue-to-rent multiple were Rs19,850 and 2.70 respectively, and total ARPM and total revenue to rent multiple (each including revenue from digital products and our value added services) was Rs22,039 and 3 respectively.
The company’s amenitised and technologically integrated workspaces come with shared amenities including meeting rooms, event spaces, printing, mail and packaging, wellness rooms and recreational spaces. It provides complete facility management services, pantry services, security and housekeeping, making it convenient for businesses to work in a fully- serviced office environment equipped with high-speed internet. Beyond office space, it creates a sense of community through modern design, collaborative environment, dedicated member experience teams, and curated activities that help businesses and their employees feel connected to their workplace, according to AGR. In return for an all-inclusive monthly membership fee that it charges members, it helps members avoid the challenges of finding and setting up their own office space, allow them to outsource the hassle of day-to-day operations to it, and reduce their upfront capital expenditure.
WeWork India operates in India’s key office markets – Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Gurgaon, Noida, Delhi, and Chennai. Tier I cities have witnessed healthy demand for office space due to their talent pools, infrastructure, job opportunities and relative business growth potential and these markets have exhibited strong market dynamics with office absorption for the six months ended June 2024 at 31.4 million sq ft, as compared to supply completion of 22.0 million sq ft during the same period, according to the CBRE Report. Further, gross absorption for these markets in 2025 is expected to be about 70.9 million sq ft, says the CBRE Report.
WeWork’s largest presence is in Bengaluru, which, according to the CBRE Report, has emerged as one of the largest office markets by absorption in Asia between CY2018 and H1 CY2024. It is one of the largest in terms of total office stock too. Also, Bengaluru is the largest commercial office and flexible workspace market in India, accounting for over 30 per cent of the flexible workspace stock amongst Tier I cities.
WeWork’s Centres are located in Grade A technology parks, business hubs and premium CBD buildings. More than 85 per cent of its portfolio was located in key clusters for flexible workspaces in India as at 30 June 2024, informs the CBRE Report.
WeWork added new products over time-based on changing client needs and evolving demand in flexible workspace industry. Its value-added services include customization of office spaces, parking, event spaces, advertising, food and beverage services and office infrastructure services. It offers an array of self-serve online products, such as WeWork On Demand (day passes for select WeWork India and WeWork Global locations), WeWork All Access (monthly membership global access), Virtual Office (business address services) and WeWork Workplace (SaaS solutions for workspace management).
Where WeWork scores
• It is a category-defining, aspirational brand, with strong international branding;
• it leaders in a rapidly growing market;
• it is backed by the Embassy group, one of India’s top developers; it is connected to WeWork Global, a global flexible workspaces operator;
• it has presence in Grade A properties in top-tier micro markets and strong relationships with top developers;
• it has one of the most extensive ranges of products and services in the industry;
• it is consistently growing high-quality, diverse and ‘sticky’ member base; and
• its superior financial performance is driven by its focus on premium pricing, capital efficiency, self-sufficient growth and robust balance sheet management.
For the future
• The company plans to continue to deepen its presence in existing cities and expand in key micro-markets with strong demand for flexible workspace solutions;
• it will continue to focus on unit economics;
• it plans to invest in new products and technology to diversify revenues through product innovation and inorganic expansion; and
• it has a data-backed and tech-based approach to expansion and improving margins.
In all, companies which are creating co-working environment are in the race to raise capital and are adding a new
flavour to the market.