WeWork Reports Sales Recovery Since 2019's Failed IPO Lows: Bloomberg

Author: Anusuya Lahiri | June 21, 2021 03:44pm

SoftBank Group Corp (OTC:SFTBY) (OTC:SFTBF)-backed global co-working company, WeWork’s, April and May desk sales marked its best net desk sales since September 2019, Bloomberg reports.
The company had previously informed regarding the resurgence of demand.
WeWork cut expenses considerably, terminated employees, including the CEO, after shelving its initial public offering (IPO) due to loss of investor confidence.
New CEO Sandeep Mathrani noted multiple order cancellations due to the pandemic.
The company is eyeing a $9 billion special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger with BowX Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:BOWX) to go public.
WeWork’s occupancy rate dropped to 47% in late 2020 from the plus 70% highs. The occupancy rose to 53% at May end.
For the first time since September 2019, almost every regional market sold more new desks than they lost through cancellations or other departures.
WeWork’s memberships plummeted from 662,000 in Dec. 2019 to 490,000 in 2020 due to the pandemic. Interestingly, WeWork had 505,000 memberships in May end, inching closer towards the failed IPO highs.
Many memberships include passes that enable booking on-demand or access to multiple office locations under one membership.
WeWork left 17 buildings and renegotiated the leases for 51 more to further cut expenses.
WeWork collaborated with SoftBank Latin America Fund to supervise Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico’s building operations. It has similar franchise agreements in India and Israel.
Price action: BOWX shares are up 2.20% at $11.60 on the last check Monday.