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City Developments Limited (CDL) has agreed to invest 72 million yuan (approx. S$14.8 million) for a 24 percent stake in Distrii, an operator of co-working spaces in China.
Established in January 2016, the company can currently accommodate more than 2,200 people across nine locations in Shanghai, with 80 percent of this capacity already taken up.
Over in Singapore, the company will also lease over 60,000 sq ft of space at CDL’s Republic Plaza Tower 1, a prime Grade A office building linked to the Raffles Place MRT station.
This represents Distrii’s first overseas expansion, and it is expected to be one of the biggest co-working facilities here once it opens by the first half of 2018. It is also expected to set a new trend in the industry by integrating office, recreational facilities and F&B space.
“We see strong potential in co-working spaces and the demand for them has been rapidly growing,” said CDL’s Deputy CEO, Sherman Kwek.
According to a survey conducted by co-working publication Deskmag last year, the number of co-working spaces worldwide soared from just 75 in 2007 to more than 7,800 in 2015, translating to a compound annual growth rate of 71 percent. By 2018, this is expected to increase sharply to over 37,000.
“The strong growth of the co-working spaces sector is expected to continue as companies and employees require more flexibility for their workspaces. In particular, for major cities in China and Asia, the start-up boom is a key factor for the rapid growth of co-working spaces. Distrii is in a strong position to cater to this demand,” noted Distrii’s CEO, Hu Jing.
Last September, CDL China announced plans to acquire a 20 percent stake in mamahome, a Chinese online apartment rental platform, for RMB 100 million.
Image: Distrii’s co-working facility at Suhe Center in China.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
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