We Crashed for real…
Discussion
Well it’s happening. I’m amazed it lasted so long after a disastrous IPO offering back in 2019.
Fascinating story and journey though, changed my industry almost overnight;
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-67316150
Fascinating story and journey though, changed my industry almost overnight;
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-67316150
It’ll be bought out by Private Equity, the underperforming assets closed, the ok assets they’ll offer to manage on behalf of the landlords for a cut of the profit and the successful assets will be retained following a -40% rebase of the rents.
With all the debt cleared from the refurbishment of the properties someone will likely make a killing.
With all the debt cleared from the refurbishment of the properties someone will likely make a killing.
Eric Mc said:
What was the difference between We Work's business model and, say, Regus?
Were they offering something different.
free barista coffee, free beer on tap, pool table, ping pong, arcade games, ability to bring your dog in (and let it wonder / sit on complete strangers laps when it wants to), comfy break out areas (with impossibly trendy books on the table) and being in the same space as a lot of 20 somethings all on the verge of being the next Elon Musk....Oh and free mouth wash in the toilets.Were they offering something different.
I spend a couple of days a week in them but the kids seem to love it...
WeWork was a cool upstart brand. But when they boast of buying space @ 20,000 workstations per month and on-boarding 10,000 individuals per month it is obvious something was not right.
This is a quote from a genuine WeWork client:
I'd be happy if their customer service was brilliant all the time.
I'd be OK with bad customer service all the time, as we can manage around that.
What really pi$$ed me off was the customer service was totally inconsistant with one WeWork staff member saying "yes we could do that" only to be told later by andther member of staff "No You can't do that"
This is a quote from a genuine WeWork client:
I'd be happy if their customer service was brilliant all the time.
I'd be OK with bad customer service all the time, as we can manage around that.
What really pi$$ed me off was the customer service was totally inconsistant with one WeWork staff member saying "yes we could do that" only to be told later by andther member of staff "No You can't do that"
I thoroughly enjoyed the Apple series, felt like it captured the absolute lunacy of the founder and brand well.
Absolutely zero surprise from me that they've filed for bankruptcy. I got to go to one, once, and it was immediately obvious that as cool as it all was it was just too good to be true. It just wasn't sustainable and obviously so.
Absolutely zero surprise from me that they've filed for bankruptcy. I got to go to one, once, and it was immediately obvious that as cool as it all was it was just too good to be true. It just wasn't sustainable and obviously so.
Eric Mc said:
What was the difference between We Work's business model and, say, Regus?
Were they offering something different.
The only operators making money in this market are ones that own their buildings not just the long leases. IWG (Regus / Spaces) are the only ones turning a profit I believe. Were they offering something different.
We used them before covid in Edinburgh and it was unclear back then how they were making money. We paid £450 per month for 2 people. All the free coffee you could want , made for you too. Free beer. Free breakfasts and terrace that had a terrific view of the castle. It was prime real estate.
I loved working there, you get to meet some really talented entrepreneurs .
I loved working there, you get to meet some really talented entrepreneurs .
Matt_E46 said:
The only operators making money in this market are ones that own their buildings not just the long leases. IWG (Regus / Spaces) are the only ones turning a profit I believe.
Not forgetting that Regus filed for bankruptcy back in 2020 so has already been through the process that WeWork is going through.IWG don’t own all their buildings they rent space like the other operators.
There is loads of competition in this sector, a number of landlords are moving in to it as a way of getting rid of their vacant space so it’s all going to be interesting
I watched the Apple documentary, thoroughly enjoyed it, I’m sure it was jazzed up for dramatic purposes, although from what I’ve read it seems it wasn’t that wide of the mark.
At its height Wework was valued at 10’s of billions, but it seemed to me, once you pulled back the fluff, it was little more than a company subletting office space.
What am I missing?
At its height Wework was valued at 10’s of billions, but it seemed to me, once you pulled back the fluff, it was little more than a company subletting office space.
What am I missing?
Joey Deacon said:
It just amazes me how these companies get so big and there is so much money involved and nobody says "Hold on a minute...."
Don't ask too many questions, pour money in, hype it up with your other investor mates, get out before the music stops, leave the mugs holding the bag. That's the VC model. 
daqinggregg said:
I watched the Apple documentary, thoroughly enjoyed it, I’m sure it was jazzed up for dramatic purposes, although from what I’ve read it seems it wasn’t that wide of the mark.
At its height Wework was valued at 10’s of billions, but it seemed to me, once you pulled back the fluff, it was little more than a company subletting office space.
What am I missing?
Nothing. That's why they've gone bust.At its height Wework was valued at 10’s of billions, but it seemed to me, once you pulled back the fluff, it was little more than a company subletting office space.
What am I missing?
daqinggregg said:
It would appear Adam Neumann’s has a new residential real estate company, called Flow; Andreessen Horowitz has invested $350 million in the startup. The investment valued the startup at more than $1 billion even before its launch.
Have I heard this story before?
Lemmie guess, the company doesn't actually buy the real estate it just leases it, then sublets it to individuals for flexible periods of time but provides all the utilities and groceries for much less than they pay......Have I heard this story before?
22s said:
Joey Deacon said:
It just amazes me how these companies get so big and there is so much money involved and nobody says "Hold on a minute...."
Don't ask too many questions, pour money in, hype it up with your other investor mates, get out before the music stops, leave the mugs holding the bag. That's the VC model. Gassing Station | Business | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff