Knotel, the fast expanding flexible office company, is looking past the United States and Europe for more office space and has headed south to Latin America, with plans to open office space in Brazil.
The firm said this week it will open 100,000 square feet in offices across São Paulo, before expanding into Rio de Janeiro, according to Bloomberg.
The flexible office space company, which has raised $160 million in multiple funding rounds and become one of WeWork’s fiercest rivals, now operates 1.7 million square feet, according to internal company figures published by The Real Deal last month. Like many companies in the office space management industry, Knotel is switching from leases with landlords to hotel-style management agreements, which accounted for 13 percent of its spaces that were open or about to open in the third quarter.
Amol Sarva, Knotel’s founder and CEO, said that the company was drawn to Brazil because the country’s strengthening office market, according to Bloomberg.
WeWork already has roots in Brazil, entering the country last year; it now has 17 locations in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte. [Bloomberg] — David Jeans