Skootr plans to raise $10mn to expand co-working office business

With rising demand for co-working office space, start-up Skootr plans to raise USD 10 million this fiscal for expansion and has leased about 50,000 sq ft area in Gurgaon from realty major DLF.

Skootr, which started operations in 2016, provides managed co-working office space as well as customised office space for big corporates. It has presence in Gurgaon, Noida, Jaipur and Mumbai with eight centres comprising 1 lakh sq ft of space.

"We are opening new office centre of 50,000 sq ft in DLF Cyber City next month, taking our capacity to 1.5 lakh sq ft and number of clients to about 2,500," Skootr co-founder and CEO Puneet Chandra told PTI.

He said the revenue will increase to Rs 20 crore annually after the launch of this new centre and highlighted that the company is already making profit, although small.

Skootr is providing work stations at an average price of Rs 11,000 per seat.

The start-up will open three more office centres, having 1 lakh sq ft of area, this fiscal in Gurgaon, Delhi and either Bengaluru or Pune in South India.

"The co-working office segment is growing 50 per cent every year. So, now we are planning to raise USD 10 million to expand our presence and achieve faster growth," Chandra said.

He said the fund would be utilised to add 50 centres with a capacity of one million sq ft.

"Promoters have already infused one million dollar in the company in the last two years. Now we are talking to investors to raise USD 10 million," Chandra said.

In latest report 'The Art of Co-Working', real estate consultant CBRE India said that leasing of office space by co-working operators might double in 2017 to 1.5 million sq ft with concept of shared office space gaining momentum in the country. It pegged leasing to touch 10 million sq ft by 2020.

JLL India said that affordable rents and flexible working options are factors driving the demand for co-working space.

It projected that the number of players specialising in co-working office spaces across India would surpass 100 sooner rather than later.

The small and medium enterprises, along with start-ups, are the biggest target clientele for the companies operating these co-working business centres. The cost per seat is in the range of Rs 7,000-Rs 15,000 per month.