WeWork to expand to 12 locations in Singapore by year end despite global woes

WeWork's latest addition is located at MYP Centre Building in Battery Road in the heart of the CBD. PHOTO: WEWORK
WeWork's latest addition is located at MYP Centre Building in Battery Road in the heart of the CBD. PHOTO: WEWORK

SINGAPORE - Co-working space operator WeWork has launched a new space in the Central Business District (CBD) and will add two more locations here in Singapore by the end of the year.

It will have a total of 12 locations in Singapore by this December, which will mark its two-year anniversary in the Republic.

The announcement on Thursday (Oct 10) comes despite reports that WeWork's parent company We Co is considering layoffs as part of cost-cutting measures and its decision to withdraw its initial public offering filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission amid difficulties in fundraising.

When contacted, a WeWork spokesman declined to comment on staff numbers here and the amount of investment that has been made in its Singapore locations.

It entered the South-east Asia region through the acquisition of Singapore-based co-working start-up Spacemob, which was part of its US$500 million (S$689 million) investment in South-east Asia and South Korea then.

It currently has 25 locations across its South-east Asia markets, which include Indonesia and Thailand.

WeWork's latest addition is located at MYP Centre Building in Battery Road in the heart of the CBD. The two upcoming spaces will be situated outside the CBD at UE Square in Clemenceau Road and NTUC Income Prinsep House in Prinsep Street.

The new office at the MYP Centre Building will be WeWork's first Singapore location to feature a mini-golf play zone and its members include private equity investor Armstrong Asset Management and event management software company EventBank.

WeWork said that the upcoming locations outside the CBD follow the success of its current space at ARC 380 in Jalan Besar, which has demonstrated "strong demand for such neighbourhoods".

In a statement on Thursday, WeWork said: "With Singapore as a key hub in South-east Asia that has gained optimal performance, the addition of these three new locations in core CBD and beyond adds to its portfolio of vibrant, strategically-located collaborative spaces in Singapore that offer enterprises and businesses an integrated environment which blends community, design, culture and technology."

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