Discover how WeWork India, in strategic partnership with the Embassy Group, has emerged as a leader in the flex space industry. With 50 buildings across major Indian cities and a focus on sustained profitability, WeWork India aims for ambitious growth and expansion in the coming years.
Q1. What’s the current narrative on WeWork Global and WeWork India?
A1 – The past couple of years have been transformative for India’s commercial real estate, and flex spaces have played a pivotal role in this monumental shift, and WeWork India has been at the forefront of it. The India business was the first-ever franchise for WeWork when we opened our first building in 2017. We continue to operate independently in the Indian market due to our strategic partnership with the Embassy Group, and we recently opened our 50th building in New Delhi. Over the years, we have built a strong network of local stakeholders, members, landlords and developers who are increasingly looking to partner with us as the industry continues to evolve.
Q2. What’s the current scale and traction of WeWork India?
Growing from our first building, WeWork Galaxy, in 2017 to the 50th building milestone – Eldeco Centre, in 2023, WeWork India has grown tremendously since its inception in the Indian market. We operate across seven major cities, including New Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Gurugram, Noida, Pune, and Hyderabad with 70,000+ members 90,000+ desks, and over 6.5 million square feet.
With an average occupancy rate of 81%, we cater to a diverse range of clients, with enterprises constituting 80% of our membership base, while the remaining 20% includes small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), solopreneurs, entrepreneurs, and startups. WeWork India emerged profitable in FY 2022-23 with a revenue of INR 1400 crores and EBITDA of INR 250 crores. One of the main contributors to our success has been our digital products’ innovation and strong growth, with an overall growth rate of 46.5% in CY 2023’s first and second quarters.
Q3.What is your ambition and positioning of WeWork India by March 2025?
We are focused on growth with sustained profitability while remaining adaptable to the ever-evolving demands of our industry. Over the mid to long term, we will continue to prioritise long-term enterprise deals to solidify our market position. In the next two years, our strategic focus will be expanding our managed offices segment. We aim to increase our capacity from 6.5 million sq ft to 8 million sq ft, and elevate our desk count from 90,000+ to 100,000 within the following calendar year.
As we look ahead, we are targeting 50% growth in this entire fiscal year.
Credits: Karan Virwani, CEO – WeWork India
