WeWork has reported a $923m (£667m) loss for the second quarter, as the flexible working giant continued its plan of slimming down the business and exiting leases in an attempt to become profitable.
The figure, which comes on the same day as the release of a feature-length documentary about its beleaguered former chief executive Adam Neumann, represents a significant improvement on the first quarter when it lost $2.06bn.
WeWork said that globally it had ended 30 leases and amended 80 during the three-month period, meaning it has exited 150 and amended 350 since the start of 2020. The move has saved it around $400m in annualised rent savings, it said.
Revenue fell to $593.5m from $881.7m in the same period last year. However, that represented only a small drop on the first quarter of 2021, when revenue was $598m. The company expects the figure to rise again to between $650m and $700m over the third quarter.
Total occupancy rose to 52% in the second quarter from 48% in the first, while consolidated new desk sales totaled 98,000 over the period.
The company will be hoping to cash in on what it expects to be a sharp increase in demand for serviced and flexible office space across the globe in the coming months, ahead of an eventual float on the public markets via special-purpose acquisition company BowX Acquisition Corp.
Chief executive Sandeep Mathrani said: “Regardless of how companies are thinking about the future of work, access to a space to collaborate, innovate, mentor and build culture remains critical.
“The demand from businesses of all sizes accelerated through the quarter and steadily continued into July, delivering strong sales momentum that will drive occupancy and revenue growth.
“WeWork’s broad spectrum of flexible solutions has made our value proposition more apparent than ever, and we are well positioned to provide companies around the world with the flexibility to adapt to the changing needs of the hybrid workforce.”
Similar to its biggest rival, IWG, WeWork has also reported growing demand for flexible space from big corporations. Goldman Sachs and Klarna have struck deals for WeWork offices in recent months, as well as beauty and fashion company FabFitFun and internet marketer ContentSquared.
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