WeWork, the nine-year old US flexible workspace provider which opened its 50th location in London last month, has confirmed that it filed confidentially for an initial public offering in December.
Should the company follow through, the move could mark one of the industry's most hotly anticipated stock market debuts in recent years. WeWork was valued at $47 bn (€42 bn) in a recent investment report.
The company told investors earlier this year that its losses doubled to $1.9 bn (€ 1.7 bn) in 2018, despite revenues also doubling to $1.8 bn. Its losses at the end of 2017 were $933 mln, in comparison.
Expenses such as $372 mln for sales and marketing (+162% from 2017) and $237 mln of interest related to 2018 bond issues, have added to the costs of its rapid expansion strategy.
WeWork saw its office locations soar to 425, spread across 100 cities in 27 countries by the end of 2018 - a significant cash flow burden. This despite WeWork's memberships (people based in its office spaces) surging to 400,000 from 186,000 in the last year, albeit at reduced growth speeds.
Occupancy levels dropped between Q3 and Q4 2018, from 84% to 80%, meaning that WeWork expanded its office footprint faster than it could fill it.
WeWork said that it initially filed a draft registration document with New York's Securities and Exchange Commission on December 28, before adding an amended statement last week.
The decision apparently follows Japanese tech firm SoftBank - one of WeWork's largest investors - declining an opportunity to acquire a controlling stake in the workspace provider at the end of last year.
