HONG KONG/SHANGHAI - Co-working space operators in China are shifting their focus from ambitious expansion plans to services such as customizing offices for clients, as rising vacancy rates and tighter financing slow their exponential growth of the past two years.
The combined area of co-working space in four first-tier cities in China surged by almost 60 percent between the end of 2017 and October last year, according to industry association China Real Estate Chamber of Commerce. “Since November, we’ve seen operators in China walking away from centers, trying to give it back to the landlord. We’ve been offered furniture from some of these people, saying they’re trying to raise money.”
The company expected to partner with enterprise clients and open another 30 flexible working centers for them this year, providing design and management services, from 15 currently, he said. Ucommune’s own branded centers would add five to 10 more to the over 200 already in place. But the rise in vacancy rates and operators dropping out of the business could also spell trouble for Chinese office landlords, especially in major cities like Shanghai where co-working is more common than the rest of Asia-Pacific.
Just wait until the centeal government hears about this as it is still illegal in China