Flexible Office Spaces in India: Opportunities and Prospects

The office space segment has witnessed significant disruption in the past few decades. The hybrid model of work, the shift in occupier preferences and a spate of infrastructural developments have fuelled the demand for flexible office spaces in India. Open floor layout, customised design and offerings and technological integration are salient features of such workspaces. Flexible workspaces are a beacon of modern workspaces, exemplifying increased productivity, flexibility and capital efficiency. They have emerged as the preferred choice for startups, corporates and multinational corporations amid constant innovation by leading workspace operators.

Key Drivers

With the hybrid model of work gaining traction post-COVID-19, flexible workspaces are poised to accommodate this trend over distributed geographies. While providing businesses with agile office portfolios, they do not compromise on superior experience. The flex model is also known to be a cost-effective model since the workspace provider bears all expenses for fit-outs and amenities. This also enables businesses to focus on core operations while outsourcing their workspace operations to the operator. This also streamlines operations, resulting in quicker turnaround time for their office requirements. Moreover, flexible workspaces also provide end-users with state-of-the-art amenities such as a gym, lounge area, convenience store, café, medical room, on-demand day passes, etc., which play a pivotal role in enhancing the end-user experience. Flexible workspace operators also offer solutions that enable enterprises to customise offerings to their preferences and requirements. The enhanced services and amenities also allow them to cater to the demand from organisations looking for collaborative, tech-enabled, highly amenitized, and customised offices on flexible lease terms.

Top Flexible Operators in India

Smartworks, an office experience and managed campus platform is India’s largest campus operator as of March 31, 2024 (Source: CBRE Report). With a footprint of 10 million sq ft across 54 centres in 15 cities, in India and Singapore, its clientele includes Indian corporates, foreign multinational corporations operating in India and startups. It equips its campuses with aesthetically pleasing designs using extensive design library, integrated proprietary technology solutions and amenities such as cafeterias, sports zones, Smart Convenience Stores, gymnasiums, crèches and medical centres. The end goal of its services is to boost productivity of employees and enterprises with access to enhanced services and amenities.

A-wfis is India's leading workspace solution provider, catering to the needs of individuals, startups, SMEs, and large corporations.

Similarly, Table-Space is a managed workspace operator with over 10.5 million sq. ft. of custom-built offices and serves 350+ clients across 75+ centres in 7 cities.

Trends & Outlook

India has emerged as one of the leading flexible workspace markets, buoyed by increasing demand for both enterprise coworking and managed office solutions, typically from large enterprises / corporates / MNCs as well as startups. Subsequently, flexible workspace stock in Tier 1 cities has grown at a CAGR of around 21% from 2020 to 2023. In India, Bengaluru, Pune, and Hyderabad are the leading markets in the flexible space segment.

New-age trends, such as campus-style office developments endowed with amenities, are gaining traction in the flexible workspace segment. These campuses combine the privacy, flexibility, and customisation of a managed office solution. Using cutting-edge technologies in managed campuses has increased productivity and efficiency and offered on-the-go access to amenities.

On the back of this demand, the total flexible workspace stock in India, ranging between 62 - 64 Mn sq. ft. in 2023, is estimated to grow to approximately 116 - 118 Mn sq. ft. across Tier 1 cities by 2027, with a CAGR of approximately 17%, according to a CBRE report.

The adoption of flexible workspace solutions like Smartworks, A-wfis, Table-Space are gaining traction amongst both startups and corporate enterprises alike, owing to their increasing use cases and constant innovations by leading flexible workspace operators. This demand is expected to grow steadily for the next few years as flexible workspaces have become fundamental to modern work culture, catering to diverse working styles and bringing flexibility to the commercial office sector.