Awfis Launches ‘Elite’ To Cater To India’s GCC Market

Coworking space startup Awfis returned to the black in the September quarter of the financial year 2024-25 (Q2 FY25) on the back of strong revenue growth, increased occupancy at existing centres and newly added seats.

A bulk of the company’s Q2 profits was driven by one-time substantial gain from the sale of its facility management division ‘Awfis Care’. 

The Delhi NCR-based startup posted a 40% year-on-year growth in its operating revenue in Q2 while operating EBITDA jumped 63% YoY to INR 100 Cr.

Amit Ramani, chairman and managing director of Awfis, remains bullish on the company’s prospects amid sustained demand for Awfis’ flexible workspaces. 

In a post-earnings call on November 12, he told investors that Awfis achieved an exit month occupancy rate of 73% in the quarter ended September 2024, with 84% occupancy in centres that have been operational for over 12 months.

Ramani said that the company’s design and build business is also witnessing robust growth, helped by a strong order pipeline and favourable market conditions. 

Most recently, Awfis signed a service agreement to build and manage over 1.65 Lakh sq ft new office space for NSE at Adani Inspire in Mumbai’s Bandra-Kurla complex.

However, Ramani knows that sustaining the revenue growth momentum in the evolving commercial real estate market would not be easy. 

So, it’s only fitting that Awfis is expanding its presence in tier II cities and has launched an uber premium workspace offering by the name of ‘Elite’.

Inside Awfis’ Elite Workspace Offering

Awfis earns revenue from its core businesses co-working spaces, flexible workspaces, custom office spaces, and mobility solutions, tailored for startups, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), large organisations and multinational corporations.

To shore up its revenue, the startup has launched the first Elite centre in Hyderabad, with plans to expand its offering to other cities, including Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai. 

Awfis’ Elite centre features executive suites, biophilic pods, meeting, podcast and focus rooms, wellness space and more. 

When asked about the idea behind launching the Elite brand when the company already offers a premium offering Awfis Gold, the company’s senior leadership said that the decision was driven by two key factors. 

First, the market size of the premium workspace segment is showing strong growth and is projected to grow further. Secondly, the number of global technology capability centres (GCCs) in India is multiplying and Awfis wants to offer Elite as a ready-to-move-in product for GCCs.

While existing Awfis coworking centres have a seating capacity of anywhere between 1,000 and 1,300, Elite centres will have 700-1,000 seats and the company plans to charge a premium of at least 40% for such centres over what it levies for other Awfis products.