China’s co-working industry turns to services

Reducing risk: Co-working space operators need to go asset-light to stay in operation.— Reuters

CO-WORKING space operators in China are shifting their focus from ambitious expansion plans to services such as customising offices for clients, as rising vacancy rates and tighter financing slow their exponential growth of the past two years.

The strategy shift marks a turn of fortunes for the Chinese co-working industry, whose rapid expansion has helped operators such as Ucommune, MyDreamPlus and Kr Space raise hundreds of millions of dollars.