Trend of co-working spaces gaining traction in India

Co-working, a western concept that involves various individuals or startups sharing a common workplace environment, is slowly catching on across prime Indian property markets, with the segment reporting around three-fold growth over 2017. According to JLL, in January-June 2018, co-working firms leased 19 lakh sq ft, compared with mere 6.4 lakh sq ft in the first half of 2017. In 2017, co-working took 5% of the leased space in the country. Ramesh Nair, CEO & country head, JLL India, said, “Co-working saw a great start in the country and is likely to play a strong role in shaping the future supply-demand dynamics by changing the way the serviced office industry works.” Many startups and an increasing number of companies prefer co-working spaces to conventional office spaces due to lower rentals, savings on operational costs and a more flexible work environment. A company can save as much as 30% on the operational cost alone, according to some estimates. Besides, the lock-in period for co-working spaces varies between one and three years while companies lease conventional office spaces for five years followed by another five years, or for three years, followed by two extensions for a similar period.