WeWork India is a joint venture between the Embassy Group and the US- based co-working space provider WeWork. The Indian arm of the company will start its operations in July by launching WeWork Galaxy — a 1.4 lakh square feet facility on Residency Road in Bengaluru.
A second centre will be launched in Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai in a building taken on lease from the Enam Securities Group. Both these centres are expected to be launched around the middle of the year with yet another launch in the NCR region by the end of this year.
Additionally, it has finalized three more locations to expand its centres in the country — one in Koramangala in Bengaluru, and two more in Delhi. The company aims to set up seven centres by December 31 2017 including yet another one in Bengaluru in Whitefield, as well as additional ones in Mumbai and Delhi.
Karan Virwani, director of WeWork India and executive assistant to the CMD at Embassy Group told ET:
We are close to signing the deal for a property on 80 Feet Road in Koramangala which will be a 750 seater and one near Sikandarpur metro station in Delhi though we can’t disclose the area and the rent as yet. We are also meeting investors, some of whom have been a part of WeWork’s story in the US.
Speaking of investments in the company, he said that negotiations will begin by year end to raise capital from external sources once potential investors have an idea of the work once a model comes up and starts running. In this matter, he also said,
We have invested $25 million in WeWork India as of now and will raise some money this year though the parent company, Embassy Group can internally fund it, if need be. We are looking to raise $100-200 million over the next few years.
The parent company Embassy Group currently holds all 100% of the shares in WeWork India and is collaborating with WeWork US on a revenue sharing basis. The co-working space provider is currently valued at $18 billion.
There have been inquiries from Zendesk, Salesforce, and Twitter India for these Indian office spaces, but no comment has been made on this yet.
Surabhi Arora, Associate Director for Research, Colliers International India passed a statement in which she said,
India offers a great opportunity for co-working space operators to profit from the rising demand for flexible, innovative and collaborative workspace designs.
