Common Ground Enters Co-Working Game, and Why
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64 THEEDGE MMALAYSIAALAYSIA | MARCH 13, 2017 MALAYSIA venture MOHD IZWAN MOHD NAZAM/THE EDGE caption: xxx Common Ground co-founders Teo Common Ground enters (left) and Erman Akinci plan to expand in Malaysia co-working game, and and Southeast Asia why developers are very quickly watching this closely BY CHUA SUE-ANN do work and make money. and networking while they carry on “I think that is the secret sauce their day-to-day business. o-working spaces are that people have to find in co-work- “If you are not building that com- nothing new but Com- ing. You need both elements: com- munity, then what are you? You are mon Ground, Malaysia’s munity and privacy.” a commodity. You are just a desk and newest entrant to this The key thing that sets Common internet connection, which can be C business, is shaping up Ground apart from other players found at cafés, at home or renting to be a game changer for — like The Co, Worq and the many out a shop lot somewhere.” KEY FACTS tenants and landlords alike. other operators in town — is its size In its first week, Common Ground • Common Ground’s co-founders Fitness First gym memberships and Common Ground launched its and ambition. has already secured leases for 35% of include Juhn Teo, who was formerly tax advice and financial health checks first location on March 1, occupying At 17,000 sq ft, Common Ground its space, beating its own internal CEO of Tower Real Estate Investment by Baker Tilly the prized double-storey penthouse is likely the largest co-working projections, he adds. Trust and Guocoland’s head of on the 16th floor of Wisma UOA Da- space in the country. It houses a Tech startups will be a big part of property investment; and Erman • Common Ground tenants currently mansara II, with sweeping views of café, event space, board room, sev- Common Ground’s base but diver- Akinci, Catcha Group’s former include Entrepreneurs’ Organization, a KL Tower and KLCC. eral meeting rooms and three for- sity amongst tenants, or members business development director management consultancy, an IT firm, The space’s design deliberately mats of workspace — hot desking, as they are called, is crucial. London Speaker Bureau, a food and stays far away from the now-ex- fixed desking and private offices “We need to be a hub for all kinds • Common Ground has raised an beverage company, an asset manager hausted trend of colourful beanbags for two or more people. of industries because that gives a undisclosed seed round of investment and a few startups and exposed-brick walls. Instead, This space can fit almost 300 lot of benefits to our members. If from the likes of Catcha Group, Common Ground goes for a sleek- people — and size really matters. you were there just surrounded by Masteron Group, Cisco, Sisma Auto • Several regional venture capital er, more relaxed atmosphere that “The potential for collaboration tech companies, how much added and SKS Hospitality funds are opening their first Kuala balances privacy and collaboration. (among members) is a very attrac- benefit is there?” Teo says. Lumpur office there, including “Everyone thinks co-working is a tive proposition for people to work Common Ground isn’t just in • Apart from a workspace, Common Jungle Ventures, IMJ Investment giant room with bean bags and peo- here and for them to stay,” says Teo. the business of renting out a desk. Ground members also get free access Partners, KK Fund, East Ventures and ple jumping around on pogo sticks, The team studied different It is intent on building communi- to services by partners including Susquehanna holding hands, singing Kumbaya, co-working models and learnt that ty by rolling out at least 20 events right?” Common Ground co-founder the spaces that have not worked a month, large and small. Juhn Teo says with a laugh. were mostly limited by their size. especially given Malaysia’s massive offi ce space as at 3Q2016 with occupan- “That’s just a very small part Simply put, a small space means a Why are property developers overhang in office space as well as cy rates of about 79.7%, according to a of it. You need the community for small community. interested? changing workspace preferences to- recent Rahim & Co report. the vibrancy and the energy. But at Conversely, a larger space makes Property consultants say that many wards more flexible arrangements. “A lot of landlords know that the end of the day, it is still a work for a bigger, more diverse communi- office building owners have been In Kuala Lumpur alone, there was co-working is increasingly popular space. You still need to concentrate, ty that can benefit from synergies looking at the co-working model, some 90.76 million sq ft of purpose-built but they are so used to the old mod- MALAYSIA THEEDGE MMALAYSIAALAYSIA | MARCH 13, 2017 65 el of renting out large amounts of Common Ground’s first loca- space to one tenant for three or more tion is in partnership with build- years,” says a Kuala Lumpur-based ing owner UOA Development Bhd. property consultant. Apart from offering the space, UOA “If you think about it, co-working has also shared part of the fit out is the complete opposite of that. Many cost and will enjoy profit-sharing, small tenants rent a small portion for Teo says. whatever duration of time on very “They believe in the model. They fl exible terms. Building owners and have been looking for a long time managers are not yet ready to oper- to get into the co-working scene ate this own their own so they need and they just haven’t found the to partner up,” he adds. right partner till we went to pitch Some property developers in Sin- to them. They’ll back us for one and gapore have already entered the see how we go,” he adds. co-working business by directly Common Ground spent just investing in operators or forming under RM3 million to fit out the partnerships with them. space and needs an occupancy rate In January, City Developments of around 40% to break even. Ltd paid S$14.8 million for a 24% Teo reveals that at least two other stake in China-based Distrii, which building owners in the Klang Valley will lease over 60,000 sq ft of space have offered office space to Com- at CDL’s Republic Plaza Tower 1. mon Ground but it wants to con- CapitaLand Ltd, meanwhile, has centrate on getting its first space partnered Singapore co-working up and running before embarking space operator Collective Works on expansion. for a 22,000 sq ft space on Capital It certainly has ambitious expan- Tower’s 12th floor. sion plans for the region. Its web- A Cushman and Wakefield report site lists several future locations in on co-working in Singapore notes Malaysia, including Taman Tun Dr that landlords can use co-working Ismail, Ampang and Subang in the as a hedge. “Rather than engaging Klang Valley as well as in Penang in an intense price war on rental in- and Johor. Regionally, Common centives and subsidies, the co-work- Ground is looking at opening in ing concept might just be the blue Indonesia, the Philippines, Thai- ocean strategy for landlords to gain land and Vietnam. a competitive advantage as it could In many ways, Common Ground help attract and retain quality ten- is positioning itself to be the We- ants,” says the report. Work of Southeast Asia, modelled This is where the likes of Com- after the incredibly successful mon Ground stroll in. US-headquarted co-working com- Teo points out that the more pro- pany that has 155 office locations in gressive landlords recognise that 37 cities around the world. WeWork co-working spaces can help diver- is valued at US$16 billion. sify their offerings and bring in Teo notes that Common Ground’s Malaysian mpob_tweetsMalaysian mpob.gov.my Palm Oil Board Palm Oil Board tenants they normally would not regional roll out could come as early have worked with. as next year. “We need to get this “It won’t solve everything but one off the ground as proof of con- this is one way of trying to mini- cept and then we can raise financ- mise the damage of having a glut ing for the next round. It’s going to in the market,” he says. be very quick,” he says. E.