EFC (I) to Expand Co-working Seats to 92,000 by 2026

New Delhi, Nov 27 (PTI) EFC (I) Ltd, which provides co-working and managed office spaces, plans to add 60,000 more desks by March 2026 to meet the rising demand from corporates.

The company had 18,000 seating capacity at the end of the last fiscal.

As on September 30, 2023, EFC (I) had about 32,000 seats across seven cities spanning over 35 centres totalling an area of over 1.5 million sq ft.

EFC (I) plans to increase its capacity from 32,000 seats to 92,000 by March 2026, the company said in a statement on Monday.

In a regulatory filing on November 24, the company said a board meeting is scheduled on December 1 to consider and approve a proposal for raising of funds by way of issue of equity shares, through private placement/preferential issue or some other routes.

Umesh Sahay, Founder & CEO, EFC (I) Ltd, said, "The concept of shared workspace has gained significant momentum in the last six years and, currently, India is the second-largest co-working market in the world."

"In order to capitalise on this opportunity we are looking at a massive expansion in the next three years to emerge as one of the biggest players in the industry. This expansion will be funded through a mix of capital, both equity and debt," he added.

The company's enterprise workspace solutions are under the brand EFC, while co-working spaces are branded under Sprint.

EFC (I) posted a total revenue of Rs 155.98 crore for the half year ended September 30, with EBITDA of Rs 71.03 crore and a net profit of Rs 14.25 crore, the statement said.

In its recent report 'Flexing the Workspace-Back to Office', real estate consultant Vestian highlighted that over 7.6 lakh seats are available with flexible space operators spread across more than 1,000 centres in India.

There are 50 major flexible space operators. The top 10 players hold 84 per cent of the total flexible office space portfolio, the consultant had said.

As per a Vestian report, flexible office spaces broadly include dedicated desks, hot desking, co-working spaces, and serviced and managed office spaces.

While co-working centres are at the most flexible end of the spectrum, managed offices would be at the less flexible end.