Mingtiandi

Asia real estate and outbound investment news

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter
Sign Up / Login Logout

Lost your password?
Register
Forgotten Password
Cancel

Register For This Site

A password will be e-mailed to you.

  • Capital Markets
  • Events
    • 2021 Mingtiandi Event Calendar
    • Join the Mingtiandi Asia Value-Add Forum 2021
    • Join the Mingtiandi Multi-Family Investment Forum 2021
    • Join the Mingtiandi Logistics Real Estate Forum 2021
    • Join the Mingtiandi Sustainable Real Estate Forum 2021
    • Join the Mingtiandi Data Centre Forum 2021
    • Join the Mingtiandi Office Strategies Forum 2021
    • Join the Mingtiandi Proptech Forum in November
    • More Events
  • MTD TV
  • People
  • Logistics
  • Asia Outbound
  • Retail
  • Design & Construction
  • Research & Policy
  • Advertise

IWG Opens in the Quayside in Third Takeover of Hong Kong WeWork Location

2021/02/25 by Christopher Caillavet Leave a Comment

quayside hong kong

WeWork has given way to IWG in the Quayside

For the third time in less than a year, IWG has opened flexible offices under the Signature brand in a Hong Kong space formerly occupied by embattled rival WeWork.

The hat-trick delivers 50,000 square feet (4,645 square metres) of flexible office space at The Quayside office tower in Kowloon East. Signature at The Quayside joins existing Signature properties in Hysan Place in Causeway Bay and The Gateway in Tsim Sha Tsui, which have seen surging occupancy, the Luxembourg-based office operator said Thursday.

Yardi Refurbish or Rebuild

“Hong Kong is a key city for IWG’s growth and strategic development,” said Paul MacAndrew, country manager for IWG in Hong Kong. “We are very excited to be opening our third Signature centre featuring cutting-edge facilities to meet rapidly growing demand in this vibrant gateway to Asia.”

WeWork Drops Half

The Hong Kong government is pouring billions of dollars into transforming Kowloon East into a second central business district. Emblematic of the shift is the 23-storey Quayside, a joint development of Link REIT and Nan Fung Group. The 883,897 square foot office building is anchored by US finance giant JP Morgan and features a three-level retail podium.

Paul MacAndrew IWG

Paul MacAndrew of IWG

The Quayside’s prime location, close to three MTR stations and with numerous bus routes and minibus lines, aroused IWG’s interest, MacAndrew said. He hinted that the trio of existing Signature centres could be just a start.

“We are focusing on growing our network in close partnership with landlords and will continue to open new locations to meet the demand for flexible workspaces, so as to provide customers options and locations that they would enjoy working in,” MacAndrew told Mingtiandi.

IWG, which also operates offices in Hong Kong under the Spaces and IQ brands, took its first crack with Signature last June when it announced its takeover of a 30,000 square foot space in Causeway Bay’s Hysan Place skyscraper. The news came just weeks after Mingtiandi had revealed WeWork’s failure to open a centre it was leasing in the tower.

Office Investment

Then last December, IWG opened its second Signature location at Wharf Holdings’ Gateway commercial complex in Tsim Sha Tsui, filling a 50,000 square foot space surrendered by WeWork.

Following this latest closure, WeWork now lists eight Hong Kong locations on its website, which is down from 15 locations listed in November 2019.

Post-Pandemic Options

The COVID-19 pandemic created what MacAndrew calls “the biggest remote working experiment in history”. IWG is betting against a full return to the status quo as countries step up vaccinations and case numbers fall.

“Workforces will continue to work more flexibly, including time from home,” MacAndrew said. “Agile work strategies are expected to increase in a post-pandemic world, reinvigorating demand for flexible space.”

Sustainability Forum

Jonathan Wright, director of flexible workspace services for Asia at Colliers International, considers IWG well positioned to continue taking over flexible space from competing operators.

“They have a great team on the ground, experience of operating in the market, a global network and a stable of brands to suit a range of assets,” Wright said. “It makes sense for an asset owner to consider IWG, where there is an opportunity to bring in a flexible workspace operator.”

Even so, he sees scope for different offerings in the Hong Kong market, from premium regional operators such as The Executive Centre and The Work Project, to strong smaller operators with a focus on the city, like Hive and Garage Society.

StanChart Leads the Way

The launch of Signature at The Quayside came on the heels of IWG’s announcement of a global partnership with Standard Chartered to provide the British lender’s 95,000 employees access to the operator’s flexible workspaces around the world.

“Up until now, organisations have been taking a gradual step towards hybrid working, but now we are seeing companies of all sizes accelerate this approach as a result of the pandemic,” said IWG founder and CEO Mark Dixon. “Our partnership with Standard Chartered is a prime example of a visionary company with a strong footprint in Asia that is leading the way by taking a radically employee centric approach, empowering their teams to work where is most convenient and productive to them.”

Bloomberg reported earlier this month that Standard Chartered was relinquishing the lease on eight floors it occupies in the Standard Chartered Bank Building in Central, with plans to rent out three levels in the Kwun Tong office that the bank owns.

In a Thursday interview, chief financial officer Andy Halford told Bloomberg TV that Standard Chartered would likely cut its global office space by a third in the next three to four years.

Related Stories

  • Abandoned WeWork Kowloon Location to Open as New IWG CentreAbandoned WeWork Kowloon Location to Open as New IWG Centre
  • IWG to Open Causeway Bay Centre as Regus Parent Plunders WeWork SpoilsIWG to Open Causeway Bay Centre as Regus Parent Plunders WeWork Spoils
  • Hanison Sells Half-Stake in Kowloon Project to Angelo Gordon as HK Market RevivesHanison Sells Half-Stake in Kowloon Project to Angelo Gordon as HK Market Revives
  • WeWork Gives Up Location in Hong Kong’s Central, City Footprint Cut by 30%WeWork Gives Up Location in Hong Kong’s Central, City Footprint Cut by 30%

Share this now

  • LinkedIn
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Email

Filed Under: Flexible Office Tagged With: daily-sp, Featured, Hong Kong, IWG, Link REIT, Nan Fung Group, The Quayside, WeWork

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Get Mingtiandi Delivered

Logistics Forum

MTD TV

MTD TV Interview with Jeffrey Perlman of Warburg Pincus Now Online

Gaw Kailong Cushman & Wakefield value add panel

China’s Value-Add Arena Set to Reward Investors With Local Presence: Watch on MTD TV

More MTD TV Videos

Latest Stories

Grosvenor Latest Global Investor to Back Taronga Real Estate Tech Fund

Tricia Song Colliers

Singapore Property Investment Jumped 48% in Q1 Says Colliers

ESR Said in Talks to Acquire 8 India Projects and More Asia Real Estate Headlines

Sponsored Features

Tony Horrell

Colliers’ Global Investor Sentiment Report Anticipates Up to 50% Surge in Investment in 2021 Sponsored Feature

Andrew-Slevin-John-Foord (4)

Insurtech to Help Address Underinsurance Across Asian Real Estate Assets in 2021 Sponsored Feature

CK Lau

Asia Pacific Logistics Sector: Increasingly Varied Sector Requires Multiple Approaches Sponsored Feature

More Sponsored Features>>

MTD-QR-Code-320

Top Stories

Blackstone Selling $2.9B Aussie Logistics Portfolio to ESR-GIC PartnershipBlackstone Selling $2.9B Aussie Logistics Portfolio to ESR-GIC Partnership

Asia Real Estate People in the News 2021-04-17Asia Real Estate People in the News 2021-04-17

APG Buys 20% Stake in Greater China Data Centre Operator OneAsiaAPG Buys 20% Stake in Greater China Data Centre Operator OneAsia


Connect with Mingtiandi

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Real Estate News

  • Capital Markets
  • Events
    • 2021 Mingtiandi Event Calendar
    • Join the Mingtiandi Asia Value-Add Forum 2021
    • Join the Mingtiandi Multi-Family Investment Forum 2021
    • Join the Mingtiandi Logistics Real Estate Forum 2021
    • Join the Mingtiandi Sustainable Real Estate Forum 2021
    • Join the Mingtiandi Data Centre Forum 2021
    • Join the Mingtiandi Office Strategies Forum 2021
    • Join the Mingtiandi Proptech Forum in November
    • More Events
  • MTD TV
  • People
  • Logistics
  • Asia Outbound
  • Retail
  • Design & Construction
  • Research & Policy
  • Advertise

More Mingtiandi

  • About Mingtiandi
  • Contact Mingtiandi
  • Newsletter Subscription
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy
  • Advertise
  • Join the Mingtiandi Team