WeWork India Sees 40% Revenue Surge in Q1 FY 2023-24 Amid Rising Demand for Flexible Workspaces
- ByStartupStory | August 22, 2023
WeWork India’s Q1 FY 2023-24 revenue surged by 40% to INR 400 crore, reflecting heightened demand for flexible workspaces from corporations across major cities, according to CEO Karan Virwani. The co-working giant, owned by Embassy Group and WeWork Global, inaugurated its 50th center in South Delhi’s Saket, entering the national capital market.
In an interview with PTI, Virwani said the company has completed six years since it opened the first center in India and now it has 50 centers and around 90,000 desks across seven cities.
“It has been a great journey of growing both the co-working/flexible workspace segment and WeWork India as a brand. In the last three years, since COVID, the adoption of flex space growing significantly,” he said.
“In 2021-22, we close the financial year with around Rs 800 crore of revenue and we were negative Rs 50 crore EBITDA (Earning Before Interest, Depreciation, Tax and Amortisation). During the last fiscal, we achieved a turnover of around Rs 1,400 crore and Rs 250 crore of EBIDTA,” Virwani said.
The post-COVID trend of flexible workspaces has contributed to this expansion, bolstered by a resumption of office work and India’s economic growth. In the last fiscal year, WeWork India saw around INR 1,400 crore in turnover and INR 250 crore in EBIDTA. Virwani anticipates maintaining growth in the current fiscal year, targeting a 50% increase. WeWork India’s operations remain distinct from WeWork Global’s uncertainties, with India’s business unaffected by global developments. Embassy Group holds 73%, while WeWork Global holds 27% in WeWork India.
The company was profitable at the post-tax level also during the last fiscal year, he said.
Virwani hoped that the company would maintain growth during the current fiscal.
In the first quarter of 2023-24, Virwani said the company has posted a revenue of Rs 400 crore, up 40 percent from the year-ago period. The EBIDTA was about Rs 70 crore.
“We are targeting 50 percent growth in this full fiscal year,” he added.
On the operational front, Virwani said the average occupancy level at its centers is at around 80 percent and the company would target to increase it further.
He said that a lot of new demand is coming from the existing clients. “The past few years have clearly highlighted that the future of work is flexible, and India Inc is increasingly adopting flex working as a way of life”.
Asked about US-based WeWork Global’s recent statement that “substantial doubt” exists about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern, Virwani said WeWork India business will have no impact from the development globally.
“We have always been a separate entity where the majority anyway is owned by Embassy Group. We have run and built the India business in an extremely healthy way. So, Indian business is fully isolated from what is happening globally,” Virwani said.
In WeWork India, Embassy Group holds a 73 percent stake, while WeWork Global has a 27 percent shareholding.
Asked whether Embassy would consider WeWork Global’s stake in India business, he said, “I will always be a buyer of this company’s equity if anyone is willing to sell it whether it’s at a discount or even a slight premium. We see a long-term value to be much much higher than what it is today. So I am always going to be a buyer.”
Virwani described WeWork Global as a great partner who helped Indian businesses during the tough COVID period by making investments.
WeWork Global, which is a leading provider of flexible workspace, had in June 2021 invested USD 100 million in WeWork India.
WeWork India has 50 centers, covering 6.5 million square feet area across 7 cities — New Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, and Hyderabad
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