WeWork has been granted court clearance to exit a further eight leases in North America as its restructuring enters a third month under bankruptcy protection.
A federal judge has approved the co-working company’s rejection of seven unexpired leases and one management agreement in Dallas, San Francisco, Atlanta and Toronto.
The approval brings the total number of WeWork leases approved for rejection to 75, with more waiting for court sign-off. Its first batch included 69 rejections, two of which were removed ahead of the approval.
The company has made renegotiating and exiting leases a central plank of its restructuring. As in the previous leases it has rejected, WeWork will abandon “personal property” at the sites such as furniture, fixtures and equipment.
Although the focus of exits has been on the US and Canada, the company is also shrinking its estate in the UK. This week, landlord Helical confirmed that it had signed a new operator for much of the flexible workspace in its Bower scheme in London, with WeWork now holding on to just one floor for a specific member until the end of May.
Last week, EG revealed that WeWork International, through which it invests in UK operating entities, made a £110.7m loss in 2022, the most recent year for which accounts are available. The company said there are now “material uncertainties” at group level that “may cast significant doubt” on its own status as a going concern.
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