Seeking to take scale in a fragmented co-working market that he said occupies at most 5 per cent of the commercial real estate market, Mr Kong was quick to make comparisons with WeWork – which already has 17 locations in Australia, according to its website – but also quick to point out differences with the unprofitable US-based operator, which this week filed paperwork for a public listing. "We are very different from WeWork," Mr Kong said. "You won’t see headlines that we are losing money like nobody’s business. We are a very disciplined company." Mr Kong said JustCo made money – "of course we are profitable" – but declined to give details. In a world where he said many original co-working providers were not surviving, there was a "huge opportunity" to expand, particularly by selling space to the established companies with 100 staff or more that made up about 60 per cent of its clients, as well as to smaller business. "Some of them, they want to have a little bit of co-working, but not be totally immersed in co-working," Mr Kong said. "They still want privacy, a private entrance." JustCo's large-footprint model – with a "magic number" of about 7500 square metres – gave it the ability to create private facilities for individual clients, he said. After the refurbished Dexus Pitt Street building, its next Australian location to open will be 8300 square metres across four floors of Melbourne's 15 William Street tower. That will open on June 29. On July 1, it will open a four-level, 4000-square-metre location at 276 Flinders Street, also in Melbourne, and on the same day it will also open a second Sydney site covering 2800 square metres on two levels at Mirvac's 60 Margaret Street. The operator's largest location is at the Marina Square shopping mall, one of Singapore's oldest and largest malls, but which has suffered in an age of online commerce. JustCo has taken 8000 square metres in the mall with a retail-focused co-working space. Mr Kong said he was talking to retailers in Australia – whom he would not identify – about a similar idea. "We are thinking to bring the concept to Australia," he said.
Singapore -based JustCo has opened a co-working centre in Australia , the first of six it plans to launch in the country the next 12 months . The 4,200 sqm site at Sydney ’s 175 Pitt Street is part of a push to increase the company’s portfolio of offices from 40 to 100 across AsiaPac over the next 12 months . Founder Wan Sing Kong claims JustCo is the only Australian co-workspace provider, aside from WeWork that operates in multiple cities in Asia , however, Kong said his company, unlike its US -based peer, was profitable. Office openings in the pipeline include an 4,000 sqm space in the William Street tower and a 4,000 sqm at 276 Margaret Street , both in Melbourne and a second office in Sydney located on Margaret Street . Kong is also talking to retailer in Australia about opening co-workspace locations in shopping malls there.