WeWork Global plans to invest $100 million in WeWork India to help grow the business in the Indian flexible market and focus on profitability.
WeWork India plans to use the capital for focused growth in the Indian market over the next 36 months. WeWork India is already profitable at the centre level and is targeting to break even by the end of June 2020 at the company level too.
“The fresh round of capital from our long-term partners at WeWork global represents a vote of confidence in our strategy and will help us serve our community better. We have enough capital for long term growth and increase the profitability of the business,” said Karan Virwani, CEO, WeWork India.
WeWork India, a fully-owned subsidiary of Embassy Group had earlier told ET that it plans to raise $200 million (about Rs 1,421 crore) to expand its India operations.
WeWork India is one of the key markets for the parent company. The company that earlier focused on increasing the number of desks to 90,000 by the end of 2020, said the focus is on profitability then adding desks. “The flexible workspace industry in India and around the world is facing its biggest challenge yet. In that, we see a new opportunity that suits our members’ evolving needs,” said Virwani.
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the shift to flexible workspaces, with businesses of all sizes looking to manage cash-flows effectively by moving costs to a variable model. This financing will support WeWork India’s long-term strategy, focused on exceptional member experience and strong financial performance at the building level.
Sandeep Mathrani, CEO of WeWork, said, “WeWork is excited to be providing financial assistance to transform the workspace environment in India. WeWork India’s financial performance has shown consistent growth, and with the fundamentals in place at a building level backed by the expertise of the Embassy Group, we believe the WeWork India business has the ability to be our growth vehicle and provide our members with an exceptional experience.”
We Co. had to pull its IPO in September and sever ties with co-founder Adam Neumann, appointed Mathrani earlier this year to turn around the business globally by focussing on office rentals. As of Q1 2020, WeWork has presence across 828 locations in over 149 cities and 38 countries with 662,000 memberships.
WeWork entered into a partnership with Embassy Group – India’s leading integrated real estate developer in 2017 and started operations in the Indian market. Embassy Group currently holds 100% rights over WeWork India, which is an independent entity with the right to execute WeCo’s business in the country.
WeWork India currently has over 60,000 desks in 34 locations, across six markets in the country, including Bengaluru, Gurgaon, and Mumbai.
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