Flexible workspaces in India expected to rise to 10 mn sq ft by 2020

01 Jul 2019 CW Staff

With co-working demand continuing to grow across cities, flexible workspaces in India are expected to rise to about 10 million sq ft, with as many as 13 million people expected to work out of co-working centres by 2020.

Tier-II cities alone are estimated to grow to 8.5 million seats by 2020. Of the 13 million, 10.3 million seats are expected to be used by enterprises, 1.5 million seats by SMEs and 100,000 seats by start-ups. According to CBRE, many corporates are also expected to allocate 10 per cent of their office portfolio to agile workspaces. Further, the industry is expected to reach a valuation of $2.2billion by 2022, which sets the tone for a shift in the entire commercial real-estate sector in India.

Having said that, globally, maintaining occupancy levels is the most challenging task for a co-working operator and the Indian market will be no exception. Other challenges co-working operators can encounter, in the view of Neetish Sarda, Founder, Smartworks, include the cost of development and operations, too many players in the market leading to saturation, and waning demand.

And so, a consolidation among co-working operators seems likely. “What is interesting, however, is the huge economic value the sector portends for the future,” says Harsh Lambah, Country Manager-India, IWG Plc. A recent IWG report predicts that India will see the greatest gross value add (GVA) increase from flexible workspaces, potentially an increase of 141 per cent, which equates to $375.8 billion, by 2030. The future, as they say, is bright!

SERAPHINA D’SOUZA

Building Material

11 Dec 2025

Suraj Estate Wins Euromoney Award for India’s Best Residential Developer

"Suraj Estate Developers Limited has received the Euromoney Real Estate Award 2025 for ‘India’s Best Residential Developer’, positioning the company among globally benchmarked leaders in the sector. The recognition reflects its four-decade legacy in delivering high-quality residential and redevelopment-led projects across South Central Mumbai. The Euromoney Real Estate Awards, presented by the London-based Euromoney magazine, are widely regarded as one of the most credible global assessments of performance in real estate, banking and finance. Winners are selected through surveys of inte..

Lloyds Metals, Tata Steel Sign MoU to Explore Strategic Collaboration

"Lloyds Metals and Energy Limited has signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding with Tata Steel Limited to evaluate potential areas of strategic cooperation across mining, logistics, pelletisation and steelmaking. The MoU was signed by B Prabhakaran, Managing Director of Lloyds Metals, and Mr T V Narendran, CEO and Managing Director of Tata Steel. The partnership framework aims to leverage the natural operational synergies between both companies and assess opportunities in greenfield steel projects, iron ore mining, slurry pipeline infrastructure, pellet manufacturing in iron ore–ric..

IndiaAI, Gujarat Govt Host Regional Conclave Ahead of 2026 AI Summit

The IndiaAI Mission under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, along with the Government of Gujarat and IIT Gandhinagar, convened a Regional Pre-Summit Event at Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar. The initiative is part of the build-up to the India–AI Impact Summit 2026, scheduled for 15–20 February 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. The conclave brought together senior policymakers, technology leaders, researchers and industry practitioners to examine how AI can accelerate economic, digital and social transformation across sectors. The programme focused on the overarching th..