SINGAPORE – Space Matrix, the Singapore-based workplace design and build consultancy, announced today its expansion into China through the successful acquisition of Interior design and construction company, Muraya.
This strategic acquisition is part of Space Matrix’s vision to expand its footprint across Asia.
Picture: Space Matrix
With its entry into China, the firm affirmed a stronger foothold in North Asia reinforcing its Pan-Asian footprint amidst the eight countries Space Matrix has offices in. With this acquisition, the firm has significantly enhanced its ability to service and manage projects from Australia, to across India, Southeast Asia and now China.
Arsh Chaudhry, CEO, Space Matrix commented, “Having expanded our Pan-Asian footprint off the back of our dominant position in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and India, entering China was a natural growth strategy for us. China presents a massive growth opportunity for us. The economy continues to propel forward with 6.6 – 6.7 per cent GDP growth. In Shanghai alone, the office stock is expected to cross 110 million square feet by 2020 from its current base of 80 million square feet. Sectors such as technology, pharmaceuticals and shipping are booming and we expect to see continued growth from other industry sectors as well.”
“When we started a dialogue with the team at Muraya, it was clear to us that they shared similar core values, and had a culture of execution excellence and client servicing that Space Matrix prides itself on. This was critical for us in choosing the right partner – we want to ensure that our global clients get the same quality of service that they expect of us in all our key markets,” Arsh Chaudhry added.
With this acquisition, Muraya will be rebranded to form Space Matrix China. Globally, Space Matrix will now have a total headcount of over 400 employees across 14 offices. Revenues are on track to grow over 40 per cent and will hit S$165 million this year.
Space Matrix Office. Picture: Space Matrix
“We plan to double our revenue in the next four years and will also separately continue to look at M&A opportunities across the globe,” Arsh Chaudhry shared.
Last year alone, the firm designed over 6.9 million square feet of the commercial real estate on behalf of its global clients. In Singapore, the firm has been working with leading global and local impact businesses.
Some of the more prominent projects in Singapore designed by Space Matrix recently are IBM, Li & Fung, Prudential Insurance, ServiceNow, Symantec, Thebridge by Ascendas-Singbridge and Uber.l firms, with the objective of creating unique and immersive workspaces that inspire people and IE Singapore (now Enterprise Singapore) has assisted 37,000 companies in 2016 according to their Annual Report 2016-2017.
In the same year, more than 450 global projects have been facilitated with about 75 of them being related to new market entries as well as new lines of businesses. These projects raked in a total overseas sale of S$9.4 billion in 2016.
“Growing globally for a Singaporean firm such as Space Matrix is a natural progress and the support and encouragement from IE Singapore through its Global Company Partnership programme was tremendous. From the start of embarking on this journey, we not only had constant support but also received sound advice and assistance as we continually grew our footprint to where we are today,” Arsh Chaudhry further added.
Felix Jiang, co-founder and Director of Muraya in Shanghai, said, “We wanted to elevate our performance to a new level. For me personally, the right business strategy is very important. We are confident that with this alliance with Space Matrix, there will be wider knowledge-sharing and it will further reinforce our business operations in China. We will significantly enhance our competitiveness and continue to compete with the best industry giants.”
Muraya currently has 45 employees on board and has completed over 500 projects across China. Some of the firm’s notable clients include companies such as Abbott, Alibaba, Kimberly-Clark, SAP and Volvo Group.
“We realised that we needed a strong global partner to continue giving our clients outstanding workspace solutions. Together we can share experiences and research globally to continually outperform our competitors,” added Love Englund, founder and APAC Director of Muraya.
Article contributed by Space Matrix.
