Possibilities of collaboration with start-ups bring big companies to co-working spaces in Hong Kong

An increasing number of companies in Hong Kong are moving into co-working spaces, drawn by opportunities for collaboration with start-ups.

Collaborating with start-ups as a way of keeping up with digitalisation, drawing in millennial talent and the cost benefits are all factors behind firms leaving Central for outer areas, with a growing number expected to follow suit.

“Corporates are absolutely adopting [co-working] and people are becoming more open about how they work, where they work and more demanding about different types of space,” said Sean Lynch, the Asia-Pacific managing director at Instant Group, which helps companies find office space. “They don’t necessarily want to work in a traditional environment – they want to have up-to-date facilities and agility.”

Cultural perceptions and a delayed rise of entrepreneurship have contributed to the slow uptake of this trend in Hong Kong. While the United States and the United Kingdom witnessed the rise of co-working in the noughties, Asia is catching up, with 30 per cent of real estate portfolios predicted to be flexible workspaces by 2030, according to commercial real estate agency Colliers’ Flexible Workspace Outlook Report 2017.

The sector has witnessed 29 per cent growth between 2015 and 2017 in Hong Kong, and the city is now home to 283 co-working spaces. International and local providers, such as New-York based WeWork and Hong Kong’s The Garage Society, have expanded their presence.