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Hong Kong’s co-working sector set to stabilise, recover as balance returns after years of unbridled expansion
- Hong Kong’s co-working industry is recovering as many operators have folded following years of overexpansion, says Patrick Mak of Knight Frank
- Hong Kong has the third largest number of co-working spaces in the world after London and New York, according to survey by UK firm CircleLoop
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Hong Kong’s co-working sector is on track to stabilise and recover after a period of rapid expansion and will be well supported by the shift to remote working, industry observers say.
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The co-working industry in Hong Kong is getting better now after adjustments made in the last few quarters, said Patrick Mak, executive director at Knight Frank.
“Previously many operators were in overexpansion mode, but then the market adjusted and many closed down and disappeared, creating a new balance point between supply and demand,” said Mak. “We think it will stabilise again towards year-end.”
The shared office space sector in Hong Kong saw high levels of growth between 2016 and 2018 when several operators announced expansion plans only to beat a hasty retreat after the economic downturn spurred by the social unrest in 2019 and the coronavirus pandemic sapped demand.
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WeWork, the New York-based shared office provider, has reduced its Hong Kong footprint by half, after giving up 90,000 sq ft of space spread over eight floors in Tower 535 in Causeway Bay. The closure of the flex office was largely related to HSBC, which decided to relocate its business division from the WeWork space to their own building in Central, according to Savills.
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