The Great Room expanding to Bangkok
SINGAPORE: Singaporean co-working space The Great Room is expanding to Bangkok at two sites: Gaysorn Tower with an investment of over 100 million baht, expected to open next month, and Sindhorn Tower in the fourth quarter.
Chief executive and co-founder Jaelle Ang said Bangkok is one of the most promising markets in Southeast Asia for co-working spaces, with rapid growth driven by demand from startups, tech firms and corporations.
“Thailand is our first overseas expansion after starting in the co-working space business two years ago,” she said. “Thais appreciate design. Despite stronger demand in Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta, we chose Bangkok as our first entry abroad.”
The company will focus on the central business district as most multinational companies, one of the target groups, are located there. It will use hospitality-led design to create an elegant, yet warm atmosphere to the space.
“Our co-working space feels like a fivestar hotel, designed by hotel designers as we believe design can inspire and energise people, making them more productive,” she said. “This kind of atmosphere also attracts community and partnership building.”
The first location in Thailand will cover the 25th and 26th floors of Gaysorn Tower, with a total of 2,800 square metres, at Ratchaprasong intersection.
The investment budget per sq m for interior decoration at Gaysorn Tower, the company’s fourth location, will be the highest as many construction and decorative materials and furniture will be imported.
“Our target is grown-up companies that are expanding as there is room for this segment in the market,” said Mrs Ang, 38. “Most co-working space operators target
startups. They need to charge competitive fees due to high competition and low purchasing power.”
The company is designing the interior on two floors at Sindhorn Tower on Wireless Road, covering a total of 3,160 sq m. It will be launched in the fourth quarter this year.
Bangkok was not new for her as she had spent seven years from 2009-2016 as head of development at SET-listed developer Country Group Development Plc (CGD), dealing with hotel chains Four Seasons and Capella at one of CGD’s projects.
The Great Room plans to open new location in Hong Kong by the end of 2018; Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Shanghai and a second branch in Hong Kong next year; and Tokyo in 2020 with an aim to cover key cities in Asia-Pacific within the next five years.
The mother of four children said the company would receive series B financing of around S$150 million (3.59 billion baht) from a venture capital in September this year.
Series A was financed in September last year by C31 Ventures, a venture capital owned by Capitaland, one of the largest developers in Singapore and the landlord of One George Street as it saw a potential growth in The Great Room.
The Great Room started in mid-2016 at One George Street, an office tower in Singapore, where it spent 90 million baht to decorate half a floor, around 1,400 sq m, before expanding to the whole floor with a total of 2,320 sq m.
After breaking even in four months at the first site, it launched the second location in February 2018 at Centennial Tower in Suntec City with a total of 3,340 sq m. The third location will open in June, in Ngee Ann City on Orchard Road, with 1,400 sq m.
Membership fee starts from S$750 per head per month for a one-location hot desk in Singapore and 9,500 baht in Bangkok.