A CapitaLand unit has invested $13.5 million for a 50 per cent stake in The Work Project Kingdom (TWPK) and will extend a further $13.5 million in loans to the co-working operator.

CapitaLand has been issued 13.5 million shares in TWPK. The remaining 50 per cent of TWPK is held by a party unrelated to the developer.

TWPK is leasing space at Capital Tower and Asia Square Tower 2 from CapitaLand Commercial Trust, in which CapitaLand has a holding of about 30.1 per cent.

It will rent 41,000 square feet at Asia Square Tower 2 for five years from Jan 1 with an option to renew for a further five. That will lift the building's committed occupancy from 92 per cent as of June 30 to about 97 per cent.

TWPK will also rent 31,000 sq ft across two floors at Capital Tower for five years from Jan 19 with a renewal option for a further five.

It is estimated that it will pay a total rent of $43.4 million over the entire lease terms.

These two leases, plus TWPK's existing offerings in Singapore and Hong Kong, mean it has a total of 177,000 sq ft of flexible space, with more to come as it expands across the Asia-Pacific.

The move to invest in TWPK is in line with CapitaLand's "core-flex" model that will integrate conventional offices and flexible space.

Mr Lucas Loh, president (China and investment management) of CapitaLand Group, said: "To build our 'office of the future' ecosystem, CapitaLand is going beyond traditional property management to providing more value-add services and community experiences for our office tenants... We believe this strategy will serve as a key differentiator from other office landlords."

Capital Tower will feature a members-only club, collaboration spaces for project teams and a movie theatre in the Central Business District.

Fit-out work for the new offerings at Capital Tower and Asia Square Tower 2 should be completed early next year. An app and a tenant portal for booking space will be ready at around the same time.