‘Co-working firm WeWork aims to become profitable globally in 2021’
NEW DELHI: Co-working major WeWork will focus on achieving profitable growth globally, including in India, in 2021 by increasing the occupancy level of its real estate portfolio, the company’s CEO Sandeep Mathrani said.
Further, SoftBank backedWeWork will revisit its plan to launch an initial public issue (IPO) only after it becomes profitable, said Mathrani, who became the new CEO in February after the exit of WeWork co-founder and former CEO Adam Neumann.
In a video conference, Mathrani said India is an important market for the US-based firm and has recently invested $100 million in WeWork India.
WeWork India’s contribution to global revenue is currently small but it will continue to rise as the country has great potential for flexible workspace business, Mathrani said. Asked about WeWork’s top priorities for India, he said the global strategy is to achieve profitable growth through increase in occupancy level at all its centres.
“Our priority everywhere globally is profitable growth and streamlining our organisation and real estate portfolio in 2020,” he said, adding that in 2021, the company plans go towards having profitable and become EBIDTA positive. Mathrani said the company has been able to reduce operating cost and cash burn significantly this year by streamlining the organisation and also its real estate portfolio.
The exercise of right-sizing organisations has been completed, while the streamlining of real estate portfolio is also 75% complete, he added.