IWG to introduce SPACES co-work places in Malaysia

SINGAPORE (Aug 2): Rapidly expanding global co-working space provider IWG will be launching the first SPACES co-working place in Malaysia this September. Located at the Platinum Sentral Kuala Lumpur at KL Sentral covering 5,516 sq m, the space will also be the largest office space by IWG in Malaysia.

Designed in standard contemporary European style, SPACES Platinum Sentral will house 1,128 dedicated desks and five meeting rooms. Membership fee starts from RM210 per month.

SPACES is an operating brand owned by IWG, a multinational serviced office and co-working space provider listed on the London Stock Exchange. Another brand under IWG which has long been established in Malaysia is Regus.

At a press conference during a media familiarisation trip to SPACES co-working spaces in Singapore yesterday, Country Head of IWG Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei Vijayakumar Tangarasan said SPACES Platinum Sentral has already achieved around 80% occupancy thus far.

He said the brand will be aggressively expanding in Malaysia and will also be launching another SPACES co-working space at Beach Street, Penang in October. The work place will consist of 283 dedicated desks and three meeting rooms set over two floors with a total area of 1,508 sq m.

IWG also plans to rebrand a Regus centre in Menara Prestige, Kuala Lumpur into a SPACES co-working place with works to start in Q4 this year.

"We are in discussions to have another two or three more SPACES to come. There will be many more next year," said Vijayakumar.

"SPACES always looks for high traffic places and quality buildings, as we need membership and people who have purchasing power," he added.

On the mushrooming of co-working spaces in the market, he opined that more competition would bring the concept of co-working spaces to the mainstream. "Competition gives diversification to the market," he said.

In the long term, he believes that the market will eventually see a stream of acquisitions. "I believe that the number of competitors will decrease in the long term," he said.

One of the core selling point of SPACES is its global presence as members could access both SPACES and Regus brand office spaces, allowing them to utilise more than 3,000 offices worldwide. "This is attractive to businesses that are looking to expand globally," he noted, adding that SPACES clients include multinational companies that are venturing into new markets.