Bengaluru: WeWork India provides 15,700 sq ft office space to Khaitan & Co

PTI, Aug 25, 2020, 1:28 PM IST

Bengaluru: Co-working major WeWork India, which is owned by the Embassy Group, has provided nearly 15,700 sq ft of office space in Bengaluru to leading law firm Khaitan & Co.

Khaitan & Co will be setting up operations in WeWork centre at Embassy Quest in Bengaluru. The law firm has taken up 300 desks covering an area of 15,697 sq ft, the company said.

“In the current climate, companies especially enterprises and multinationals are opting for flexible workspaces and reconsidering fixed asset investments in order to remain agile and retain the flexibility to adjust operations based on the market conditions,” WeWork India CEO Karan Virwani said.

WeWork caters to these needs while providing the right mix of culture, community and collaboration, he added.

In 2017, WeWork Global entered into a partnership with Bengaluru-based Embassy Group to enter the Indian market. WeWork India currently has 34 centres comprising 60,000 desks across six major cities.

“The nature of the workspace required by law firms has been evolving over the years, and the needs have particularly changed during this global pandemic. WeWork’s unique ability to provide fluid, flexible and managed workspaces made the decision to partner with a leader such as WeWork an easy one,” said Rajiv Khaitan, Senior Partner at Khaitan & Co.

WeWork India has taken space on lease at Embassy Quest building from Embassy Services Limited, which is part of Embassy group and is into facility management business.

“Embassy Services has the leasing rights for Embassy Quest and this partnership with WeWork India is another step towards Embassy group’s commitment for the flexible workspace sector,” Embassy Services MD & CEO Pradeep Lala said.

WeWork India had in June raised USD 100 million from US-based WeWork Global for the future growth of the company. It offers seats in the range of Rs 5,000-40,000 per desk per month.

Co-working players take office space on lease from real estate developers and other landlords to set up their centres. They provide desks to corporates, freelancers and start-ups.

The co-working segment, which grew at a rapid pace in India in the last few years, has been badly impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.

However, experts believe that the need for flexible space will only rise post the pandemic, as corporates will look to cut capex on setting up its own offices.

As of Q1 2020, WeWork globally has 828 centres in over 149 cities and 38 countries.