Tata Digital picks up nearly 200 seats in IndiQube Orion’s shared working space

Mumbai-headquartered Tata Digital Ltd has picked up around 200 seats at IndiQube Orion’s shared working space at HSR Layout startup hub in Bengaluru, said two people, requesting anonymity.

The lease agreement was signed recently and the Tata group’s flagship e-commerce entity is expected to occupy the office within a month, following some modifications to the interiors, said one of the two people.

Mukesh Bansal, president, Tata Digital, will operate from the office space along with his team. After investing $75 million in Curefit in June, the Tata Sons group firm appointed Curefit co-founder and chief executive Bansal as president of Tata Digital. He also continues to lead his company.

“Tata Digital is building a large technology and e-commerce team in Bangalore and is likely to expand aggressively in the next 6-12 months. They have taken up flexible office space for the moment as they want to get started. Their plans will be clearer in 3-6 months,” the second person said.

A Tata Digital spokesperson did not respond to an email query.

A spokesperson for IndiQube refused to comment.

This year, the company, which houses Tata Group’s digital assets, acquired a majority stake in online pharmacy 1mg Technologies Pvt. Ltd. It also acquired a 64% stake in online grocer BigBasket.

In May, the Tatas increased the share capital of Tata Digital from ₹1,000 crore to ₹10,000 crore, according to regulatory filings. tata digital is also looking to raise ₹5,000 crore by issuing commercial papers.

The company, which has been on a hiring spree, recently announced the appointment of Modan Saha as the chief executive officer of Financial Services. Saha will be responsible for building the fintech business portfolio.

Large enterprises and mature, well-funded startups have been on a hiring spree, and is looking for ready and flexible office spaces. They were also largest occupiers of flexible workspaces during the pandemic.

With increasing demand and companies looking at pivoting towards a hybrid office space model, flexible workspace operators are looking to expand their portfolios by over 30% in the next 2-3 years, said a FICCI-CBRE’s report, Future of Flexible Workspace.

In a post-covid world, companies are expected to shift to more flexible work space models, and firm offering shared office spaces will not only look at standard leased options in their office portfolios, but also a variety of other formats, including but not limited to flexible offices, the report said.