MyDreamPlus bags funding of $120m

MyDreamPlus, a Chinese co-working space brand, completed a $120 million round of funding earlier this week, the largest single amount a company has secured in the domestic industry to date.

The company said the series C financing will support its future growth and help consolidate its leading position in the industry.

"This round of financing will further support MyDreamPlus' expansion into the first-tier cities in which it already has operations, such as Beijing and Shanghai, as well as into new first-tier markets, including Chengdu, Hangzhou, and Xi'an," the company said in a statement.

"It will also allow the company to increase investment into research and development, and upgrade its smart office spaces."

Since its establishment in 2015, MyDreamPlus has focused on building an office as a service system, which integrates space design, smart office management and community building. In March, MyDreamPlus completed its series B financing of 300 million yuan ($43.4 million).

"MyDreamPlus' bespoke solution has helped companies ranging from startups right up to large and medium-sized enterprises to address their major demands in office spaces," said Hillhouse Capital, a lead investor in the new round of funding.

"The company has the opportunity to use its innovative platform to further expand its scale, and support the upgrade of the broader co-working spaces and workspace service industry," it said.

Eric Zhang, managing director and China head at General Atlantic, another investor, said: "MyDreamPlus has a unique service-oriented offering, which has been developed through the combined use of data-driven intelligence and design ... There is a significant opportunity for it to continue to grow in the domestic co-working space and workspace market."

The co-working space industry has been booming around the world, especially in China, thanks to the surge of entrepreneurial activities nationwide, industry officials said.

Hillhouse Capital attributed China's strong demand for co-working space services to the country's rapid economic development and more dynamic market environment.

At the end of 2017, there were more than 4,000 co-working spaces operating in China, with a total of over 100,000 workstations, according to data released by China Real Estate Information Corp.

Key brands in China include Ucommune, Soho 3Q and WeWork.

After years of rapid expansion, China is expected to become the world's largest market for the co-working space sector in the near future, said Yan Quhai, senior board director of Cushman and Wakefield Inc, a global commercial real estate services company, at a recent conference.

Currently, MyDreamPlus operates around 300,000 square meters of floor space across nearly 40 office units and properties in the core business districts of Beijing, Chengdu in Sichuan province, Shanghai, Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, and Xi'an in Shaanxi province.