New Delhi, Aug 25 (PTI) Hong Kong-based The Executive Centre (TEC), which provides serviced office space, on Tuesday reported 27 per cent increase in revenue for India business at USD 20.5 million (around Rs 150 crore) during January-June this year despite COVID-19 pandemic.

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The Executive Centre's India revenue stood at USD 16.1 million (around Rs 119 crore) in the corresponding period of the previous year.

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Globally, the revenue grew by 5.3 per cent YoY to USD 119.6 million during the first six months of 2020.

TEC, which has over 135 centres in 32 cities and 14 countries, entered India in 2008 with its first property in Mumbai. In India, it has around 30 centres, spread over 8 lakh sq ft with a capacity of 8,000 desks.

In an interview with PTI, TEC founder and CEO Paul Salnikow said the demand for premium serviced offices has increased from MNCs and domestic corporates across the Greater Bay Area and South-East Asia.

He said the company would continue to invest on business expansion to meet this demand.

TEC's India operation has been growing at an average 30 per cent annually, he said, adding that the company remained bullish on medium to long term.

"We are in a massive global economic contraction due to a global pandemic. This contraction is not because of global economy falling apart but because of a global health pandemic which is impacting our markets," Salnikow said.

However, he was confident of huge surge in economic activities post COVID-19 to compensate for the time lost.

"Right now, we as a premium flexible workspace provider offering safe haven to our clients. We are communicating with our clients and preparing for growth once market situation allows," Salnikow said.

TEC Managing Director-South Asia Nidhi Marwah said revenue of India business grew as it mostly caters to large corporate clients.

On expansion, she said it would continue as per the plan.

In June, Marwah had said TEC would invest over Rs 100 crore to open five new centres at Bengaluru, Gurugram, Chennai and Pune. Nearly 2 lakh sq ft area of office space has already been taken on lease to start these facilities.

These five centres, which have a capacity of around 2,300 desks, would become operational by next year.

"... the COVID-19 pandemic has been the main external factor impacting the performance of companies. As a result, the world of work is changing dramatically as businesses focus on managing costs to survive, and look for workspaces with greater flexibility to support in office and remote working," Salnikow said.

TEC has invested significantly in health and safety measures to ensure minimal disruption to clients, he added.

Being optimistic towards the future of the office, Salnikow said, "Although the global health crisis is fundamentally reshaping corporate working environments, we expect offices to remain an important hub for creativity and idea sharing."

Going forward, he said more companies would have core and satellite offices, with some employees working closer to home or continuing to work from home.

Privately owned and headquartered in Hong Kong, TEC provides private and shared workspaces, business concierge services, and meeting and conference facilities to suit any business' needs.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)