Coworking operators are reevaluating their expansion plans as the ongoing pandemic makes remote working the norm for the time being.
Some have taken the path of cutting down on the size of office spaces they planned on adding to their portfolios, while others have delayed their plans altogether. However, this disruption rocking the industry is expected to be short-term and business should see an uptick in the second half of the fiscal year.
For instance, Smartworks founder Neetish Sarda said the company had plans of adding up to 3 million square feet of space for a total footprint of 5.5 million square feet by the end of the year, but have since revised this to add 4.2 to 4.5 million square feet by December. In order to make up for this loss, the operator is in talks to acquire other smaller players.
Additionally, Awfis CEO Amit Ramani said that it will continue to open its planned facilities, but will wait on new expansion plans.
“Pre-Covid, we had 2.5 million square feet of commercial real estate footprint, which could expand to 3.5 million square feet by the year end,” said Ramani.
