WeWork India Unimpacted By The Global Co’s “Substantial Doubt” About Its Future

Even after global workspace provider WeWork expressed “substantial doubt” regarding its ability to continue as a going concern, its Indian arm has claimed to remain unaffected by it.

“Since its inception, WeWork India has been backed by the Embassy Group which holds the majority stake and control to run and operate WeWork Global’s business in India. Any development globally has no impact on our business here,” said Karan Virwani, CEO, WeWork India, in a statement on Wednesday.

It is pertinent to note that the New York-based WeWork warned of a possible bankruptcy, which has turned out to be a sharp reverse of fortune for this Softbank-backed one of the most celebrated names in the global startup ecosystem.

During its quarterly earnings for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023, WeWork said, “…as a result of the Company’s losses and projected cash needs, combined with increased member churn and current liquidity levels, substantial doubt exists about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern.”

The company reported a net loss of $696 Mn in the first half of 2023 as against $1,139 Mn reported in the last year’s period.

However, WeWork India’s Virwani said that despite the challenges brought by the pandemic, the Indian arm emerged profitable early last year. He said that it ended FY23 with a revenue of INR 1,400 Cr and INR 250 Cr in earnings. 

“We have built a strong network of local stakeholders, members, landlords and developers who are increasingly looking to partner with us. We are focussed on growth with sustained profitability, and the fundamentals of our business remain strong,” Virwani added.

Notably, WeWork India has continued to expand its footprint in the country. As of October last year, it had more than 6 Mn square feet of assets signed across 40 locations in the country in cities, including Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Pune, and Hyderabad.

In June this year, WeWork India reportedly took a lease of over 1 lakh square feet of office space in Hyderabad after taking on lease a 2.2 lakh square feet of office space in Bengaluru.

Last year, the coworking space provider announced its first investment in Bengaluru-based conferencing and collaboration platform Zoapi to enhance the hybrid workspace model.

In December last year, WeWork India secured INR 550 Cr ($66.4 Mn) from Hong Kong-based BPEA Credit.