- Internal round andnbsp, participation by 14 & nBsP, investors at an up-round with and / or Phillip Capital, and the lead
- With & nbsp revenue growth of 80 % in 2023, industry-leading net profit margins in the mid-teens
WORQ, Malaysia’s leading coworking provider, announced an undisclosed pre-Series B funding amidst the backdrop of rising global interest rates and a slowdown in startup investments. Describing the round as an internal pre-Series B, 14 follow-on investors participated, signifying a vote of confidence in the startup that claimed revenue growth of 80% for its 2023 financial year that closed in Aug while maintaining mid-teen net profit margins.
With its largest expense to time and finally straight into WORQ, global resource management firm Phillip Capital, based in Singapore, took the lead in the round. Place expansion may be done with the money.
In the near future, procedures are being made for a Series B round with outside shareholders.
According to Linus Lim, CEO of Phillip Capital Management Ltd.,” WORQ’s effective expense management and effective growth approach positions them as a scalable and sustainable business unit, capable of competing not only directly but also globally.” We value owners who are able to foresee market trends, and WORQ’s group has unquestionably shown this trait, which gives me hope for their upcoming success.
The Leong home office’s investment, which was led by Mah Sing Group Director of Group Strategy and Operations, received help from her. We have complete confidence that WORQ may continue its progress history in the upcoming years thanks to a customer-first approach, careful financial management, and disciplined execution.
” Cradle is behind WORQ all the way, as they are vital to the ecosystem for the growth of startups ,” said Acting Group CEO Norman Vanhaecke. Having a strong group of business owners to tap into is crucial once businesses receive money. We must support the great work that WORQ is doing because it has a lot of good ripple effects for the nation if we want to remain competitive on the global stage.
Stephanie Ping, Chairman and co-founder of WORQ, discussed the prospects for the company’s future and emphasized the benefits for Malaysia and its members as supply chains are restructured to boost endurance. ” Southeast Asia is now a popular spot for many companies looking to broaden and expand their global supply chain.” Due to its diversity, multilingualism, educated talent pool, and strong SME supply chain, the Malay market is well-positioned to seize these possibilities.
Where WORQ enters the picture is to address equipment problems, which can be a major barrier for companies looking to invest in new markets. She identifies WORQ’s Space-As-a-Service unit as a remedy.
Through its system of cloud practices,” WORQ” offers clients flexibility and adaptability. We have established a system of one-stop shopping centers that is essential equipment for the establishment of both foreign and domestic businesses in Malaysia. This is viewed by us as a crucial step in the job-creation, coaching, and knowledge-transfer routine.
WORQ’s customer profile has changed. It is now planning to increase its under-manage space by the end of 2023 and triple that to 450, 000 square feet by 2025. WORQ is seeing an increase in demand from international companies moving into the area in addition to its working clients, which includes technology startups and SMEs. 70 % of its demand now comes from corporate clients, up from only 20 % prior to the pandemic.
The market penetration for flexible offices in Kuala Lumpur is currently around 1 %, down from the 3 % regional average, according to JLL Research. By 2030, according to JLL, there will be significant room for growth as the penetration rate rises to 30 % due to the demand for flexible business solutions.
Many landlords and REITs are collaborating with WORQ to offer these solutions to their buildings in response to this trend, giving them a competitive edge in the process of luring in more tenants and increasing rental yields.
With the largest business network in Malaysia, WORQ sees an opportunity to emerge as the best Space-As-a-Service provider. By offering flexibility to business people, related to that of Amazon Web Services in cloud technology, the company hopes to become the” Amazon of business places.”
By 2030, it intends to increase its managed room to 3 million square feet. WORQ has so far incubated 300 companies and 100 tech firms with strategies to employ more than 10,000 people by 2025.