The Executive Centre to invest Rs 200 cr for office space expansion

The Executive Centre (TEC), a flexible workspace provider having its headquarters in Hongkong, will invest Rs 200 crore in adding approximately 250,000 sq ft of office space in Gurgaon, Mumbai and Bengaluru, Nidhi Marwah, its group MD for South Asia, told the media. The investment will be used to develop 8 to 10 additional centres in the nation across existing markets. After the successful investment of Rs 100 crore in 2020, their outlook for the industry remains bullish, supporting them to double that investment to Rs 200 crore to promote future increase. This investment will guarantee that they would continue to render a melting pot of experiences customised with unparalleled finesse to their members. The flexible workspace industry has become more relevant for organisations amid the pandemic as firms across sectors reassess their real estate holdings, both long-term and short-term, to make capital expenditure more effective. Demand for flex office space has picked up quite a bit, particularly in cities like Bengaluru, Mumbai and Gurgaon, since people are coming back quickly to these areas. The firm is in different stages of negotiations for properties in these cities. It will take 12-16 months, though they would like to complete it in a year. They will at least aim at two centres in one city. The size depends a lot on the client's requirement, and it could be 500-seater or 1,000-seater. The firm is eyeing centres upward of 40,000 sq ft, depending on the city and location. The Executive Centre runs about 1 million sq ft of office space spread across Mumbai, Bengaluru, Gurgaon, Pune, Hyderabad and Chennai. In other cities, people are coming back, but at a slower speed, and that is why they will presently focus on development in three cities only. As of now they are not exploring entering into a new city, but they are open to everything. The flexible workspace industry has developed as the first choice for most businesses that need agility in their works. As per a JLL report, 66% of employees expect to be able to work from different places in the post-pandemic environment. TEC aims to match the expenditure for expansion from internal funding. Even during the pandemic, the firm has added space in Bengaluru, Mumbai and Pune. Many companies are looking for workspaces where they can scale up and scale down with the ease of accommodating new work cultures and schedules. TEC began operations in Hong Kong in 1994 and now has more than 150 centres in 32 cities and 14 markets. It is the third-largest serviced office business in Asia. Image SourceAlso read: Byju's takes up 9,500 sq ft office in Mumbai on 5 year lease