WeWork to offer data analytics services to accelerate growth

WeWork India, the Indian arm of USbased co-working space provider WeWork, is launching its 'design-build-operate' services here and will offer data analytics to companies, to boost its growth.

WeWork, which has a joint venture with Bengaluru-based property developer Embassy group for the local unit, is in talks with a few large companies to offer both the services, said Karan Virwani, chief executive officer of WeWork India. So far, it was following a subscription-led model in which it would charge users for shared services at its centres.

In the design-build-operate service - branded as ‘Powered by We’ - an organisation takes care of the leasing and capital expenditure, while WeWork does the interior designing, brings in community teams that hold events for employees, facilities management, and so on.

“The idea of having community teams is to encourage people to interact during events and create a happy environment,” said Virwani. Companies can tap into its proprietary software WeOS and hardware infrastructure to manage, design and operate their own real estate portfolio. “India does about 30 million sq ft in leasing volumes. Even if we cater to 1-2 per cent of that, it will be huge,” Virwani said.

In April, WeWork tied up with Fung Group and Hony Capital for the first such customised spaces in mainland China. WeWork also launched its first 'Powered by We' space in Asia with Standard Chartered's eXellerator Lab space in Hong Kong in April.

Virwani said WeWork will also offer data analytics to companies as to how their employees use the office space. WeWork has increased the number of its desks by four times from the beginning of the year, to 12,000 now, Virwani said. WeWork has leased out space portfolio of 1.5 million sq ft.

“We are looking at a six-fold growth this year and hope to double our business every year,” Virwani said.

In the past six months, its main competitor CoWrks had acquired over 700,000 sq ft and launched seven centres across Bengaluru, Mumbai, DelhiNCR and Chennai.

It has nine centres with an area of one million sq ft. CoWrks wants to double its current space by the end of 2018, with 23 operational centres covering over 2.5 million sq ft in area.