International Workplace Group (IWG) achieved significant expansion in India during the first half of 2026, signing 43 new locations and establishing the country as its third-largest growth market globally and fastest-growing market in Asia. According to reports from ETRealty, all 43 H1 signings were executed through managed partnerships with local property owners, demonstrating the company's capital-light strategy for rapid expansion. The growth reflects rising demand for flexible workspaces as enterprises, global capability centres (GCCs) and homegrown businesses rethink their workspace requirements. Harsh Lambah, country head-India, IWG, emphasized that the partnership model allows the company to expand into cities such as Coimbatore, Ludhiana and Surat without the capital requirements of a traditional expansion strategy.
IWG currently operates 125 centres across 37 Indian cities under its Regus, Spaces and HQ brands, spanning major metros and emerging markets including Coimbatore, Mohali, Ludhiana, Surat, Jaipur and Indore. As reported by ETRealty, the company maintains a pipeline of more than 200 new centres across the country, positioning for continued aggressive expansion. The capital-light strategy enables quick growth while helping partners generate more value from their buildings, as noted by CEO Christian Schmitz.
The expansion aligns with broader momentum in India's office market, where flex operators saw activity increase by 14.2% in H1 2026, accounting for 41.7% of total leasing volumes across India's top seven cities — the highest first-half market share on record for the segment. According to JLL Research (REIS), leasing activity by global capability centres also surged 14.2% year-on-year during the same period. IWG estimates the long-term addressable market for flexible working globally at more than $2 trillion, driven by an estimated 1.2 billion white-collar workers.
IWG delivered record network growth by signing 728 new locations globally in H1 2026, expanding its global network to more than 6,000 signed locations across over 120 countries. As reported by ETRealty, expansion was led by the United States with 187 new signings, followed by the United Kingdom with 62, India with 43, and China with 42. The group also reported record revenues and EBITDA during the period, with 95% of new locations secured through capital-light managed partnership agreements globally.
