Keppel Land Invests $25 mn in Co-Working Space Firm Smartworks

Keppel Land, the property arm of Singapore-based conglomerate Keppel Corporation, has invested US $25 million in Noida headquartered co-working space Smartworks.

“Smartworks innovative business model, coupled with its strong knowledge of the Indian enterprise office segment and execution abilities, is highly scalable and relevant, particularly in India’s growing market for commercial office spaces,” said Tan Swee Yiow, CEO, Keppel Land.

Also, there are many opportunities for cross-learning and collaboration between Smartworks and Keppel Land’s smart serviced co-office platform, KLOUD, which currently has a presence in Singapore, Vietnam and Myanmar, he added.

Leasing activity in the commercial real estate segment rose by 40 per cent year-on-year, crossing 30 million square feet in the first half of 2019, the highest recorded, and is poised to reach 50 million square feet by the end of 2019. Within this segment, the flexible space market has risen by 52 per cent y-o-y in the first half of 2019, according to the statement.

“With this strategic investment by Keppel Land, we will be able to scale up even more rapidly across India’s Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities, and further invest in building up our next generation product, improving client experiences, as well as boosting our talent and technology,” said Neetish Sarda, Founder, Smartworks.

Presently, Smartworks has 23 operational centres in nine cities including Delhi, Noida, Mumbai, offering a total of about 43,000 workstations spread over 2.3 million square feet.