Boom in commercial office spaces in Sri Lanka
One of the biggest loopholes the real estate sector is facing in recent times is the inadequacy of commercial office spaces. While there has been a surfeit of apartments and various property models, developers have been encouraged to also focus on office space.
Modern day companies, often today, have just one employee, it may be the Chairman or CEO of the company. Start-ups and small scale businesses begin with just one employee having a laptop with wi-fi and some stationary which then grows into a billion dollar business.
GrandSpace fills this space vacuum and brings to Sri Lanka the concept of renting out office space. Last week the company launched its space in Kohuwala, on Level 06 of the Tisara Plaza complex.
Samila Maddumage, Director of GrandSpace on the sidelines of the launch, told the Business Times, “It’s one of the demanding segments most entrepreneurs in the country have been looking forward. Having an office space of your own to identify it as yours, gives a great privilege and builds the trust among the clients,” he added. He also mentioned that, GrandSpace is unique compared to other international and local brands that have established office spaces in Sri Lanka, in terms of some distinctive features.
GrandSpace has 30 office spaces that include 98 working stations. There are spaces available to accommodate one to six stations in one room depending on the customers’ requirement with a dedicated phone line and wi-fi. There are two common meeting rooms that can accommodate four and nine people, respectively. Each company will receive an office address for mailing purposes.
Mr. Maddumage noted that the rent for the space starts from Rs. 33,000 per station for a month. The rental charges vary depending on the number of months or years the contract is signed with GrandSpace. “There is also a concept called ‘day office’ where you rent a space for a day or few hours to conduct a meeting,” he added.
Complete office furniture, full time electricity, air conditioning, reception services, call operator services, tea and coffee services, housekeeping, CCTV surveillance, parking, lunch room inclusive of a fridge, microwave, coffee machine and snacks, a rest area, a spacious lobby, and free tea service for guests are some of the extra services provided by GrandSpace to their clients.
GrandSpace is a subsidiary of Grand One ( Pvt) Ltd, owned by Niro Dahanayake. The company has also invested in the construction sector through Grand Voyager and Grand Mark.