Flexible workspace giant IWG takes over US rival WeWork’s abandoned office space in Hysan Place, Causeway Bay
- The world’s largest operator of serviced offices is taking floors 31 and 32 of Hysan Place which were abandoned by WeWork in April amid dwindling demand
- Agents familiar with the matter said Luxembourg-based IWG will pay less for the space than the HK$70 (US$9) per square foot a month that WeWork paid
IWG, the world’s largest operator of serviced offices, is to take over the space left behind by rival WeWork at Hysan Place in Causeway Bay, where rents have fallen more than 6 per cent recently.
The 32,000 square feet of co-working space on the 31st and 32nd floors of the tower, owned by one of the city’s biggest landlords, Hysan Development, was abandoned by WeWork in April.
The American flexible workspace giant has vacated a fifth of its Hong Kong premises recently. The uncertain economic outlook, it is believed, led would-be WeWork tenants, typically small businesses and start-ups, to walk back on their commitment to take up space.
Agents familiar with the matter said IWG, which is based in Luxembourg, will pay less for the space than the HK$70 (US$9) per square foot a month that WeWork paid under a leasing contract signed in December 2018.
“IWG will be operating its first Signature by Regus in Hong Kong at Hysan Place and has signed its first deal with a firm that will occupy 25 seats this week,” said Paul MacAndrew, country manager for Hong Kong and Singapore at IWG, in an interview. “The centre will open in August.”
Rent in Causeway Bay dropped 6.2 per cent in the first three months of this year, according to Savills, as the Covid-19 pandemic battered an economy already reeling from months of anti-government protests. Agents said the rent of grade A offices in Causeway Bay and Wanchai could plunge as much as 20 per cent this year.
