Rs 200 crore to be invested for expansion in three cities by Executive Centre

Amid the pandemic the flexible workspace industry has become more appropriate for organizations to make their capital expenses more productive. The companies across sectors reassess their real estate possession, both long-term and short-term.

Group managing director for South Asia, Nidhi Marwah told in an interview to ET that, The Executive Centre (TEC) based in Hong Kong, a flexible workspace provider will invest Rs 200 crore in adding close to 250,000 sq. ft. of office space in Gurgaon, Mumbai, and Bengaluru.

Across the existing markets, the investment will be utilized to set up 8 to 10 additional centers in the country.

Mariah said, “Post the successful investment of Rs 100 crore in 2020, our outlook for the industry remains bullish, encouraging us to double that investment to Rs 200 crore to facilitate future growth.”

“This investment will ensure we continue to provide a melting pot of experiences, customized with an unparalleled finesse to our members.” she further added.

Amid the pandemic the flexible workspace industry has become more appropriate for organizations to make the capital expense more productive, companies across sectors reassess their real estate possession, both long-term and short-term.

Marwah said, “Demand for flex office space has picked up quite a bit, especially in cities like Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Gurgaon, as people are coming back quickly to these locations.”  For the properties in these cities, the company is in different stages of negotiations.

She said “It will take 12-16 months, though we would like to get it done in 12 months. We will at least target two centers in one city. The size depends a lot on the client’s demand and it could be 500-seater or a 1,000-seater.”

Depending on the city and location the company is looking at centers upward of 40,000 sq. ft.  across Mumbai, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Pune and Chennai the executive center operates close to 1 million sq. ft. of office space.

“In other cities, people are coming back, but at a slower pace, and that is why we will currently focus on expansion in three cities only. As of now we are not exploring entering into a new city, but we are open to everything,” Marwah said.

For most businesses, the flexible workspace industry has emerged as the first choice that wants agility in their operations. According to a JLL report, 66% of employees expect to be able to work from different locations in the post-pandemic environment.

From internal funding, TEC plans to meet the expenditure for expansion. The company has added space in Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Pune even during the Pandemic

Many organizations are looking for workspaces where they can scale up and scale down with the ease of accommodating new work cultures and schedules.

TEC is the third-largest serviced office business in Asia. In Hong Kong, TEC started operations in 1994 and now has over 150 centers in 32 cities and 14 markets.