Chinese coworking company aims to accelerate growth

Kr Space Co Ltd, a leading coworking space operator in China, plans to accelerate its business expansion in the flexible workspace sector, aiming at a 300 percent growth rate in 2018, according to the company's top management.

"Based on the large market potential in coworking, we will aim higher in 2018," said Qian Xiao, vice-president of Kr Space. "Our managing areas at the end of 2019 will reach 1.5 million square meters."

Coworking spaces are gradually becoming a major force in the office building market due to the flexibility and convenience, said Qian, expecting to account for 30 percent of the overall market in the next five to 10 years.

According to an industrial report from JLL, the flexible space sector in the Asia-Pacific region is expanding rapidly, with stock recording a compound annual growth rate of 35.7 percent from 2014 to 2017.

The number of major flexible workspace operators and the overall stock of floor space in the region more than doubled in the same period, JLL's report said.

In the first half of 2018, coworking space has accounted for 18 percent of the transaction volume in the office building market, of which 13 percent could be attributed to Kr Space, Qian said.

"Kr Space is one of the few shared office providers that is expanding rapidly across the whole industry," he said. "In the future, we have confidence that the company will earn a large market share."

The core competitiveness of Kr Space, according to Qian, lies in its management philosophy. "Rather than simply providing working space, we help enterprises to grow and develop," he said.

According to the company's statement, its business so far has covered 11 major cities in China, operating more than 40 coworking communities and more than 35,000 workstations.

Fan Hang contributed to this story.