(Bloomberg) -- One of Hong Kong’s biggest co-working leasing deals has added to an explosion in the number and size of such agreements. Start-up Campfire Collaborative Spaces leased three floors of the Harbourfront Landmark building in western Kowloon from private equity firm Pamfleet Real Estate Fund LP, according to Colliers International Group Inc., which brokered the transaction. Record co-working deals in Hong Kong in 2018 show their growing role in the office market amid the rise of companies such as WeWork Cos., the U.S. firm reported to have claimed a valuation of $35 billion. Co-working companies accounted for 10 percent of new lettings on Hong Kong Island last year, according to Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. “For the next six to 12 months, we will continue to see co-working operators expanding in the market,” said Denis Ma, head of Hong Kong research at JLL. “A lot of operators are trying to gain market share because it’s very much a new sector.” The firms’ appetite for space is increasing dramatically, with 592,000 square feet (55,000 square meters) leased in grade A and grade B buildings citywide this year, 64 percent more than in all of 2017, according to Colliers. "There will be continued growth although market dynamics in Hong Kong mean year-on-year take up will unlikely match the heights” of 2018, said Jonathan Wright, Colliers International’s director of flexible workspace services. To contact the reporter on this story: Shawna Kwan in Hong Kong at wkwan35@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Katrina Nicholas at knicholas2@bloomberg.net, Paul Panckhurst ©2018 Bloomberg L.P.
Campfire, one of Hong Kong’s biggest co-workspace operators, has leased three floors of the Harbourfront Landmark building in western Kowloon. The deal is one of a record-breaking number in the co-working sector this year, building on the strong growth of the sector in 2017 when 64 percent of new lettings on Hong Kong Island were signed by co-workspace providers, according to JLL. The sector is expected to continue to expand over the coming six to 12 months as new operators look to gain market share, according to Denis Ma, the head of Hong Kong research at JLL.