One of the regrets Masayoshi Son, founder of SoftBank Group, had about his myriad bets across the globe was the $20 billion he ploughed into US-based co-working firm We-Work. In 2019, We-Work had to call off an IPO after rising investor concerns over its business model. Then, the pandemic hit. Demand for co-working spaces—largely used by startups—plummeted. Medium and large corporations shed excess office space to cut costs. It seemed like it was all over for WeWork and others like it. But in 2021, WeWork managed to go public successfully. If anything, the pandemic proved to be a succour of sorts for the company. What happened to WeWork is reflective of a wider trend unfolding in India at the moment. There is a surge in demand for shared workspaces again, but with some interesting undercurrents. Instead of startups, a growing number of medium and large enterprises are gravitating towards such spaces. And this enhanced demand from cash-rich companies is characterised by a preference for customised managed offices instead of co-working spaces. Sensing an evolving clientele far more demanding than small startups, those in this business are tweaking how they operate. But do bigger clients mean better margins for flexible-workspace providers? we sheds light on the changing dynamics of the country’s $2 billion flexible-workplace sector in our today's article.
