Ayala Land takes on WeWork

To counter the aggressive expansion plans of foreign competitors entering the market, the Philippines’ largest real estate developer, Ayala Land, plans to open more co-working spaces across the country.

As part of its regional expansion, WeWork officially launched its Philippine operations early this week. WeWork is a US-based, multibillion-dollar startup backed by Japan’s SoftBank Group. WeWork will be investing $500 million in Southeast Asia and South Korea.

The Philippines is predicted to see and an influx of foreign operators over the next few years. This is due to the coworking space providers that offer cheaper and more flexible terms than traditional landlords. The Philippines delays regional peers in terms of coworking space supply, and freelancers and startups around the globe have been caught up by coworking space providers.

In Metro Manila, only 3.2% of the total of 11 million sq. meters of office space supply is allotted for flexible working space. Even so, Colliers International is expecting a healthy demand. According to Colliers International, the expansion will match the demand even though the stock is expected to grow by at least 10% over the medium term.

Ayala and WeWork are taking different approaches to the local market.

As WeWork is securing two floors with 800 seats at an upscale office tower in Bonifacio Global City business district, the head of Ayala Land Offices, Carol Mills, said more Clock In sites is in the works.

“Definitely, we are ready to expand because we have the locations, they [WeWork] have a big number of seats, but our strategy is a bit different. We want to be in multiple locations” she told the Nikkei Asian Review early this week.

 

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