BlackRock leads $53 mn debt funding for co-working space provider GoWork

Gurugram-based co-working spaces provider GoWork has raised $53 million (around Rs. 374.55 crore at the current exchange rate) as debt from a private fund managed by the world’s largest asset management company BlackRock and the special situations group of CLSA Capital Partners. 

The funds will be leveraged to scale business and provide value-added services to clients, a statement issued by GoWork said. 

The investment in GoWork is BlackRock’s first on-shore private financing transaction in India, the statement added. 

“GoWork is taking the brick-and-mortar aspect of the co-working concept further, as well as consistent measures to enable young businesses to reach their highest potential. We look forward to GoWork offering optimal operational efficiency for all start-ups as well as corporates,” Neeraj Seth, head of Asian credit, BlackRock, said.

GoWork, promoted by the Nimitaya Group, was founded in November 2017 by Nimit Mahajan, Sanjeev Mahajan and Sudeep Singh. The startup’s first facility at Gurugram is touted as one of the world’s largest co-working spaces.

The workspaces provided by the startup house offices of companies like Paytm Mall, Impactify Consulting and CoverFox. 

“At GoWork, we aim to create a support system that caters to not just the physical/infrastructural requirements of companies but one that encompasses all aspects of the business. This funding is one step forward towards achieving that goal,” said Sudeep Singh, chief executive officer, GoWork.

The co-working startup plans to open 50 centres across India by 2025. GoWork also wants to provide services like crèches, pet-care and sports facilities as part of its plans to expand value-added services, it said.

BlackRock, with $6.84 trillion worth of assets under management, recently raised $2 billion for its flagship opportunistic credit fund, which invests in corporate credit assets across geographies and industries.

BlackRock had earlier participated in a $100 million funding round in ecommerce firm Snapdeal in 2014.

CLSA Capital Partners’ India portfolio includes a $10 million investment each in Holisol Logistics and Nobel Hygiene, which it backed in 2015. Its previous portfolio firms include Apar Industries, Equitas Micro Finance India, Havells India, Jyothy Laboratories, Luminous Power Technologies, Resonance Eduventures, Sanghvi Movers and VLCC Health Care.

GoWork competes with the likes of CoWrks, Awfis, 99Springboard, SoftBank-backed WeWork and Innov8, which was acquired by OYO recently to launch its co-working platform.

In July, Awfis raised $13 million from a mix of equity and debt funds in a round led by Bisque and Link Investment Trust. 

Earlier this year, it was reported that the India arm of Cowrks was in talks to raise $350 million from a clutch of investors in what could be the first round of external funding for the company. 

In a move that marked a trend of consolidation in the Indian co-working solutions space, hospitality chain OYO acquired Delhi-based Innov8.

OYO also plans to launch two more co-working space brands called PowerStation and WorkFlo.