Co-working space operator Kr Space doubles down on Hong Kong with second location … even before the first one opens
The company, a spin-off of technology platform 36Kr, says it plans to open a 50,000 square foot space in Times Square by the end of the year in partnership with The Wharf
Kr Space, the Beijing-based co-working space operator, plans to open a location in Times Square in Causeway Bay, doubling down with a second investment in Hong Kong only three months after announcing plans to open its first workspace in the city.
The company said on Thursday it will partner with local property developer The Wharf, which owns the Times Square office and retail complex, to open a 50,000 square foot space before the end of the year.
“High rental prices in Hong Kong’s office building market make co-working space an ideal solution for entrepreneurs looking for flexibility to scale their business quickly and cost-efficiently,” said Liu Chengcheng, chairman and founder of Kr Space. “Hong Kong is Kr Space’s first market outside mainland China and we see a great opportunity to bring Kr Space’s high-quality service and innovative technology-based approach to Hong Kong.”
The upscale Times Square complex features one million square feet of retail space, and one million square feet of Grade A office space, which is home to global tech giants such as Alibaba Group Holding, Google and Apple.
The company aims to offer more pioneering workplaces for local business and innovative companies, as well as multinationals, including financial institutions.
In May Kr Space signed a 10-year contract with Chinachem for a lease of seven floors comprising a total area of 83,000 square feet in the 21-storey One Hennessy. Expected to open in the second quarter of 2019, the Wan Chai location will represent the company’s first venture outside the Chinese mainland.
Kr Space says it plans to open more than one million square feet of co-working space in Hong Kong over the next three years. Other locations under consideration include Kowloon and additional districts on Hong Kong Island.
Dubbed as a rival to WeWork, the company has grown rapidly since its launch in 2014.
Over the next three months Kr Space plans to open 12 workspace centres across Beijing and Shanghai, bolstering its portfolio of more than 40 locations nationwide.
Since it was spun off from Alibaba-backed technology platform 36 Kr in January 2016, Kr Space has secured investment from venture capital firms including IDG Capital, China Minsheng Investment Management, Gobi Partners, Unity Ventures, Colony New Yangtze Fund, and Prometheus Capital, a fund established by Chinese tycoon Wang Jianlin’s son Wang Sicong.
