NewsBite

Co-working

September

A WeWork hub in Sydney.

Auditors warn WeWork hubs face ‘uncertainty’

Even though the co-working giant’s US parent has emerged from bankruptcy with considerably less debt, its local loss-making operation faces “significant doubt”, its auditors say.

  • Nick Lenaghan

July

Creative Cubes Tobi Skovron and Workspace 365 Victoria’s Michael Benson.

Consolidation coming to co-working as Melbourne rivals merge

CreativeCubes, backed by Flight Centre co-founder Geoff Harris, has bought five Melbourne hubs from Workspace365 as it prepares for an offshore assault.

  • Larry Schlesinger

June

Phil George with Jacqui Pires of King Street Studios

WeWork’s exit opens opportunity for new co-working hub

The owner of 66 King Street in Sydney’s CBD has taken over the space from WeWork and decided to run his own co-working office there under a belief that he can do it better.

  • Campbell Kwan

WeWork has emerged from bankruptcy. What’s next?

The company’s re-emergence from bankruptcy arrives at a time when demand for office space remains weak overall.

  • Wyatte Grantham-Philips

May

WeWork’s no-drama new owner pitches turnaround

Low-profile software tycoon Anant Yardi sees “tremendous opportunity” in the co-working business after a turbulent bankruptcy.

  • Amelia Pollard and Sujeet Indap
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Co-working is moving to the suburbs

With hybrid work the new norm, the industry is betting on sedate suburban and small-town locations where employees of big companies go to escape their homes. 

  • Justin Fox
Shaped like a wing: Adrian Williams in front of the Aerofoil co-working hub and new hotels.

Accor readies Melbourne Airport hotel and co-working hub for take-off

The hotel offering of 464 rooms across two Accor brands – a Novotel and ibis Styles – will include a two-level co-working hub when it opens on July 1.

  • Larry Schlesinger

April

Co-founded by Adam Neumann and  Miguel McKelvey in 2010, WeWork had a meteoric rise before a stunning fall.

WeWork cuts new restructuring deal that spurns Adam Neumann

If approved, a restructuring deal will allow the fallen co-working giant exit bankruptcy with less debt and a leaner, less expensive lease portfolio.

  • Jonathan Randles and Steven Church
Co-founded by Neumann and  Miguel McKelvey in 2010, WeWork had a meteoric rise before a stunning fall.

Adam Neumann and partners offer more than $766m for WeWork

The bid adds another dramatic chapter to the saga of the co-working firm and its charismatic founder, the subject of books, podcasts, a television series and a movie.

  • Hannah Miller and Crystal Tse

January

The cocktail bar inside Hub Australia’s new flagship flex office at 44 Martin Place, Sydney.

Hub operators step up for 2024 after WeWork buckles

Hub Australia is going big with its CBD offerings to compete with major landlords such as Dexus, while others are focusing on the suburbs for safer returns.

  • Campbell Kwan

December 2023

Workspace company BE Offices collapses in pandemic aftermath

The London-based office provider entered an administration application, the latest flexible workspace business to fold.

  • Sabah Meddings, Lucca de Paoli and Jack Sidders
Seen here in Singapore, now coming to Melbourne: 67 Pall Mall Club is a private members’ club for wine lovers.

Australia’s first venue for exclusive London wine club’s about to open

Developer Ross Pelligra is counting on the country’s inaugural 67 Pall Mall to invigorate his closed 85 Spring Street office building in Melbourne’s CBD.

  • Michael Bleby

November 2023

Falling in value: The One Poultry building housing a WeWork co-working space in London.

Loan to London building that WeWork rents is for sale at discount

The sale of the loan exposes the fault lines created by soaring interest rates, the steep costs of renovating older buildings and WeWork’s bankruptcy.

  • Irene García Pérez, Lucca de Paoli and Libby Cherry

What WeWork’s failure tells us about beanbags in offices

The pandemic burst the illusion that people want to live at work and most companies now have a hybrid work policy, with employees coming to the office far less.

  • Pravina Rudra
WeWork was for a time a darling of Wall Street and Silicon Valley.

WeWork’s bankruptcy caps swift downfall for $US47 billion standout

From behemoth to bankruptcy, it’s been a wild ride for a start-up sometimes battered by forces outside its control – lockdowns and a slow return to offices. 

  • Amelia Pollard, Ellen Huet and Ethan M Steinberg
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SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son.

WeWork saga cost Son $18b – and his credibility

The fall of WeWork has shattered the Japanese billionaire’s standing as a shrewd investor with a legendary VC record.

  • Min Jeong Lee
WeWork has pledged to keep its local hubs open, while reducing its space at some facilities.

WeWork pledges to keep doors open at local hubs, but cut space

WeWork’s US bankruptcy filing is the latest move in its efforts to stay afloat as it juggles heavy debt and rental obligations with weakening demand for office space.

  • Nick Lenaghan
A WeWork co-working office space in Berkeley, California.

WeWork files for bankruptcy amid office market downturn

The flexible-office-space venture, valued at $US47 billion at its peak, is facing the consequences of excessive expansion that left it with unprofitable leases.

  • Updated
  • Sujeet Indap and Eric Platt

October 2023

WeWork heading for the exit at 50 Miller Street in North Sydney.

WeWork to close two Sydney offices

The company, which leases out flexible and short-term space it secures on long-term contracts, is being crunched by reduced office demand.

  • Michael Bleby, Campbell Kwan and Mark Di Stefano

August 2023

Start-ups are coming together to create a DIY coworking space, which functions similarly to that of flatmates living together.

Move aside WeWork, start-ups are making their own share offices

Businesses are coming together to create DIY co-working spaces, which function similarly to that of flatmates living together.

  • Campbell Kwan

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/co-working-1n64