WeWork insists it’s business as usual in Singapore amid talk of US parent seeking bankruptcy protection

WEWORK said on Wednesday (Nov 1) that all 14 of its locations here are operational even as the co-working giant is reported to be filing for bankruptcy as early as next week in the US. 

Shares of New York Stock Exchange-listed WeWork fell 32 per cent after the Wall Street Journal first reported that the company is considering filing a Chapter 11 petition in New Jersey, according to sources familiar with the matter. 

In response to queries from The Business Times, WeWork’s spokesperson in Singapore said: “We have not and do not comment on speculation. WeWork Singapore remains committed to providing members with exceptional office space and services throughout the region.” The company added that all its 14 locations here are operational.

Landlords say WeWork Singapore has paid its rents on schedule and maintained high utilisation, but that they are watching the situation carefully. 

In Singapore, most of its spaces are in prime Central Business District office locations, where rents have trended upwards for nine consecutive quarters until they fell in the third quarter of the year.

WeWork Singapore’s largest space here is a 21-storey building at 21 Collyer Quay, where it holds some 213,000 square feet (sq ft) of space leased from CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust (CICT). The seven-year lease started in Q4 of 2021. It also has three floors of space at Funan on North Bridge Road, leased from CICT.

A CapitaLand spokesperson noted that WeWork remains a tenant at 21 Collyer Quay and Funan. WeWork accounted for 2.4 per cent of total gross rental income at CICT in September 2023, and is CICT’s second-biggest tenant.

CapitaLand said: “We are currently in discussions with the tenant while closely monitoring the ongoing developments. As with any lease arrangement, should a tenant approach us for discussion, we will assess on a case-by-case basis, considering our contractual rights and obligations.”

WeWork is also a tenant at two City Developments Limited (CDL) properties – City House in Singapore and St Katharine Docks in London. A CDL spokesperson shared that WeWork has approached it for assistance, and the group understands that other landlords have been approached as well.

“Both properties are well-leased and given the strong demand for well-located commercial space in both cities, we do not anticipate significant difficulties backfilling any vacated space...

“With the latest news, we will continue to closely monitor the situation.”

WeWork is a tenant at Suntec Office Tower 5 as well, where it occupies 60,000 sq ft of space across the 17th and 18th floors. Suntec City is managed by ARA Trust Management, which is the manager of Suntec Reit.

ARA Trust Management said: “We understand that WeWork’s offices at Suntec have very high utilisation, and are performing well. We will continue to watch closely their future developments.”

Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust (MPACT) which owns Mapletree Anson where WeWork has co-working spaces said: “MPACT is monitoring the situation on WeWork and reiterates that WeWork is not one of our top 10 tenants.”

In August, WeWork raised “substantial doubt” about its ability to continue as a going concern. It said this would depend on whether it can improve liquidity and profitability over the next 12 months and would focus on reducing rental costs, negotiating more favourable leases, increasing revenue and raising capital. 

The company recorded a net loss of US$696 million for the first half of 2023, narrowing its losses from US$1.1 billion in the year-ago period.

A WeWork spokesperson told BT in August that Singapore is and remains a key market. “Singapore is our strongest market in this region (South-east Asia) and one of the key cities globally.”