Coworking Startup WeWork India Bags INR 550 Cr Funding From BPEA Credit

Coworking space WeWork India has secured INR 550 Cr ($66.4 Mn) funding from Hong Kong-based private equity company BPEA Credit.

WeWork India will use the funds to achieve growth and consolidate business opportunities, as per a PTI report.

The development comes twenty months after WeWork India bagged INR 200 Cr debt and equity funding from two anonymous investors.

Set up in 2017, WeWork India is mainly a joint venture between real estate major Embassy Group and  WeWork International. It currently operates 41 offices in six Indian cities including Bengaluru, Mumbai, Gurugram, Noida, Hyderabad, and Pune.

“Flexibility is paramount in today’s workforce and the investment by BPEA Credit stands testament to the massive growth opportunity for flex workspaces in India,” said Karan Virwani, CEO of WeWork India.

The startup shared that its clientele comprises 70% enterprises and the remaining 30% are startups, small and medium enterprises and freelancers.

Earlier this month, Virwani told PTI that the coworking space company posted a revenue of INR 760 Cr in 2021 and is expected to see its revenue reach INR 1,300 Cr this calendar year (CY2022).

“We are laser-focused on fuelling growth opportunities and fortifying our position as the leading flexible workspace brand with customisable and innovative solutions for all businesses,” Virwani said.

Besides, WeWork is reportedly pegged over $2 Bn and turned profitable since November last year. It has formed partnerships with 15-20 realty companies to date; DLF, Rahejas and Prestige, to name a few.

In India, it faces competition from the likes of Smartworks, Awfis and iSprout, among others.

As per a report, the country’s coworking industry is projected to grow to 10 Mn sq feet during 2014-2020. At present, there are quite huge coworking spaces available in the country spanning about 50K sq feet against the global average of 7K sq feet.

It is prudent to note that during the pandemic, the Indian coworking space was badly hit owing to widely practiced social distancing, which led companies, freelancers and SMEs vacating office spaces and going completely remote. 

However, this is improving in the post-pandemic phase when companies and other allied micro businesses are adopting hybrid models thus returning to the coworking spaces. 

So far this year, the coworking industry saw a slew of fundraising activities. This includes Table Space bagging $300 Mn from Hill House Capital, iSprout lapping over $4 Mn Pre-Series A funding, and IndiQube raising about $30 Mn funding among others.