The property arm of Singaporean conglomerate Keppel Corporation has invested US$25m (€22m) in a pan-India flexible workspace provider.
Keppel Land said it has invested the capital in Smartworks Coworking Space, a company which offers 43,000 workstations from its 23 operational centres in nine cities.
Founded in April 2016 by Neetish Sarda and Harsh Binani, Smartworks has a presence in Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai and Pune.
Currently with 2.3msqft centres, catering to over 400 organisations, Smartworks plans to grow its flexible office space footprint to 20m sqft over the next five years.
Tan Swee Yiow, CEO of Keppel Land, said: “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.”
Tan said this investment allows Keppel Land to enter one of the world’s fastest-growing flexible office markets, opening doors for further growth through this collaboration.
“There are also 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.”
Sarda said: “Smartworks is also already cash flow positive and is profitable at a consolidated level.
“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.”
