Skootr to invest Rs 75 crore in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: Skootr Global, a managed office space provider, has plans to invest upwards of Rs 75 crore in Hyderabad to double its office space under management. Currently, it has about 3.5 lakh sqft and is looking to sign up a similar amount of space this year, said Puneet Chandra, co-founder and director, Skootr. Skootr offers […]

Hyderabad: Skootr Global, a managed office space provider, has plans to invest upwards of Rs 75 crore in Hyderabad to double its office space under management. Currently, it has about 3.5 lakh sqft and is looking to sign up a similar amount of space this year, said Puneet Chandra, co-founder and director, Skootr.

Skootr offers ‘workspace-as-a-service’ wherein enterprises take office spaces on lease. “Our current portfolio is about 3.5 lakh sqft across three projects in Hyderabad. These centres are new but the occupancy has already touched about 75 per cent. We are bullish on Hyderabad and are looking to add another 3.5 lakh sqft this year. We have initiated discussions on this front. This will take our total managed space to 7 lakh sqft,” said Chandra.

“Our spending is about Rs 2,000 per sqft. Adding deposits and other costs, the total exposure we have taken in Hyderabad so far will be about Rs 75 to 80 crore. The next phase of investment will be slightly more as costs of some materials have gone up,” he said.

“Post Covid, industry wants flexibility and more services to be delivered to their employees. Emphasis is on having spaces that foster collaboration,” he said, adding that a bulk of the office space deals are happening in the managed space segment.

In managed spaces, there are common areas like lobbies, cafeteria and toilets. The rest of the area is a bare shell. “We use this bare shell area to customise the office space according to the client requirements. Managed spaces are suited for companies that are particular about design and configuration. The deals are mainly for long term. Managed spaces suit companies that recruit in large numbers,” he said, adding that area leased is a better metric for the managed space segment rather than the number of seats created.

“In co-working, customisation possibilities are limited. So, whatever seats that are built, they have to be sold. Co-working has become popular due to startups that mainly look from a short term or temporary perspective. Their workforce is generally below 200,” he said.

Among its clients, one US-based company has taken 60,000 sqft, which will be enough to provide employment to about 600 people in one shift. Skootr has clients from IT, BFSI, commodity trading, architecture and other sectors.

“Hyderabad is IT-heavy and very exciting. We are bullish on the city for our growth. We see Hyderabad to be in parallel with Bengaluru very soon. The IT and political infrastructure here is conducive to the growth of the IT sector. There will be growth in Hyderabad due to lower rentals as well. Bengaluru has now become a Rs 120-130 (per sqft) market and Hyderabad is a sub-dollar market,” he said.

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