WORQ raises up-round of RM10 Million to expand in RM3 Billion flexi-office market

Malaysia-based coworking space firm WORQ has secured RM10 million in funding from seven follow-on investors, including the regional investment group Phillip Capital, to help capture a fast-growing Flexi-Office market projected to surpass RM3 billion in value in 2030.

WORQ, which has also secured loan offers from six banks including Affin, will use the funds to grow its space under management 10-fold to one million square feet, helping offices and businesses pivot to a more cost-efficient workplace solution following the Covid-19 pandemic.

Despite fundraising post-WeWork’s delayed IPO and during a challenging COVID-19 funding environment, WORQ successfully raised funds from seven follow-on investors.

WORQ is founded by Stephanie Ping, former Axis-REIT Head of Business Development and Andrew Yeow, a former fund manager and equities analyst at CIMB Principal.

A WORQ-able formula for the coworking space industry

WORQ has been profitable since inception in March 2017 with three months being the average time it takes to fill up their outlets. In the two years since its last fundraising round, WORQ has grown its footprint by seven-fold and its revenue by 560%.

Third-time follow-on investor and co-founder of the successfully-acquired startup JobsCentral, Huang Shao-Ning says: “WORQ has definitely found the elusive secret sauce for the Space-On-Demand market compared to its better-funded peers. Its fast growth model, coupled with a low-risk profile, is one of the healthiest and rewarding models out there. I believe WORQ is easily the best coworking space operator in Malaysia.”

With its sustainable model, WORQ is able to help turnaround loss-making spaces even in quiet locations. WORQ has made an acquisition of another flexible space into its portfolio for this purpose. WORQ is also looking to inorganically expand its portfolio via acquisitions and partnerships with other coworking space operators and landlords.

Gearing up for faster Space-On-Demand adoption

According to global real estate giant Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), flexible office spaces only make up one per cent of Kuala Lumpur’s total office space. JLL estimates that flexible space demand will accelerate due to COVID-19, predicting that 30% of all office space will be consumed flexibly by 2030. WORQ estimates that the flexible office market in Malaysia will grow to RM3 billion by then.

“WORQ’s strategy is to offer tailor-made solutions and extreme flexibility to companies. This is comparable to that of ride-hailing services, which offer on-demand rides one at a time. WORQ sells office usage to companies one desk at a time, eliminating the need to rent and fit out an office. WORQ’s Space-On-Demand solutions allow companies to implement a distributed work style. In this new environment, WORQ can sell one desk multiple times over and increase the efficiency of space usage,” says Ping.

WORQ has expanded its services to include WORQ Enterprise, a Space-On-Demand division dedicated to consulting and customising workspaces for companies. These integrated solutions help companies save up to a staggering 30% in costs every month.

WORQ has won international MNC accounts and has purpose-built headquarters for its clients in Malaysia including some 500-strong teams for the likes of multinationals such as top-tier banks and one of the world’s largest advertising firms headquartered in London.

Multiplying worldwide productivity through hyper-localized communities

“Fundraising amid the pandemic is a strenuous challenge to businesses and MDEC is exceptionally proud of WORQ for this remarkable feat. As one of the 7 certified Malaysia Digital Hubs (MDH), WORQ has proven its mettle as a formidable startup community builder through their collaborative programmes and providing a fertile ground for tech companies to spur digital innovation. MDEC will continue to render full support towards WORQ’s involvement in fortifying Malaysia’s startup ecosystem with sustainable interventions,” said Gopi Ganesalingam, VP of MDEC’s Global Growth Acceleration Division.

WORQ plans to go further than providing office spaces and ultimately aims to induce collaboration by introducing a community workstyle. “A community workstyle is powerful because, at any moment that you need help, or someone to collaborate with, you will find great value in being able to tap into the community,” says Ping.

WORQ will soon be launching its proprietary community app, SPARQ to create an online-offline experience for its users. “This spawns local communities everywhere, thereby canvassing the globe with productive hyper-localized communities all over the world. Ultimately, WORQ’s vision is to help people prosper by working together,” she adds.