Singapore’s largest co-working space provider, JustCo, announced on Oct 25 that it had secured a lease for a space at China Square Central, 18 Cross
Street. The building is currently undergoing extensive renovation works and will be repositioned as a premium mixed-use commercial complex with retail and office space as well as a new hotel residence, scheduled to open by 1Q2019.

JustCo’s new space at China Square Central will occupy 35,000 sq ft on the second level of the building and is scheduled to open in 4Q2019. It will be JustCo’s 13th location in Singapore.

“It is the first of a series of projects we are exploring with Frasers Property, following their financial investment in JustCo in May 2018,” says Kong Wan Sing, JustCo’s founder and CEO. “Their strategic support will be instrumental in helping JustCo achieve a dominant position in Asia.”

In May, Mainboard-listed property group Frasers Property and Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC had invested US$177 million ($245.3 million) with JustCo to develop a co-working space platform across Asia.

Since then, JustCo has expanded aggressively in Asia with the launch of its third location in Bangkok at Samyan Mitrtown, which will open in 4Q2019 as well as new openings in the pipeline in Jakarta, Seoul, Sydney, Melbourne, Taipei, Shanghai and other Asian cities.

JustCo opened two new locations in Singapore in July: in Marina Square retail mall (60,000 sq ft) and historic building MacDonald House (17,000 sq ft) on Orchard Road. “We continue to explore opportunities that add to the range of options in our portfolio,” says Kong.

He also believes the traditional commercial real estate model with clearly defined uses — residential, commercial or retail — no longer holds. “Today, the mobile millennial workforce wants to work, live and play in the same area,” says Kong. “We are the first shared workspace operator to locate one of our centres in a retail mall, at Marina Square. At that time, few believed it was possible. Today,it is the norm.”

At the new JustCo at China Square Central, there will be state-of-the-art facilities, including a large event space with a platform stage, pop-up display corners for members to showcase their products, spacious hot desking and dedicated desk areas, bespoke suites, a JustBrew café and a collaboration and games corner, says Kong.

In its Series B funding completed in September last year, JustCo raised US$12 million from Sansiri Global Investment, the Singapore-based subsidiary of Thailand Stock Exchange-listed property group Sansiri. This enabled JustCo to expand rapidly in Bangkok, where it has secured three locations totalling close to 200,000 sq ft. They are in two floors at AIA Sathorn Tower (to open in 1Q2019), three floors in Capital Tower at All Seasons Place and across four floors at Samyan Mitrtown.

Kong intends to increase JustCo’s footprint in Singapore and across Asia to 100 co-working centres by 2020.