We all know how WeWork’s attempt to go public crashed and burned with the New York-based company ousting its founder Adam Neumann, and withdrawing their initial public offering (IPO). Reports that followed were overcast, saying the firm is expected to lay off as many as 2,000 employees, or about one quarter of its workforce. WeWork Singapore hasn’t spoken about whether they’re affected by the problems in the US, but their announcement today comes as quite a surprise. The coworking company just unveiled its newest location in MYP Centre building at 9 Battery Road today, with two more to follow in December. The second and third new locations will be launched outside the CBD, in UE Square at 83 Clemenceau Road and in NTUC Income Prinsep House at 30 Prinsep St. On their website, WeWork writes that the 9 Battery Road coworking space spans 14 floors. Along with the usual mix of hot desks, private offices and highly aesthetic common areas, it also boasts the first mini-golf playzone. Currently, WeWork 9 Battery Road has already welcomed some global enterprises as their members, like private equity investor Armstrong Asset Management and cloud-based event management software company EventBank, which has also occupied WeWork offices in Washington DC, Hong Kong and Shanghai. WeWork says their continual growth in Singapore, as their regional hub, is a “testament to strong demand for WeWork in Southeast Asia”. The company first entered Singapore through their acquisition of Spacemob, where their first location, WeWork Beach Centre, was opened in December 2017. “Fast forward to today, WeWork will be celebrating its two-year anniversary this coming December 2019 with a strong footprint across five other markets, including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam,” says the firm. Featured Image Credit: WeWork
Despite its failed IPO, WeWork is launching three locations in Singapore. The first, MYP centre at 9 Battery Road, has private equity investor Armstong Asset Management and cloud-based event management software company EventBank as tenants already. Two more sites are to follow in December outside the central business district (UE Square at 83 Clemenceau Road and NTUC Income Prinsep House at 30 Princep Street). The plan is to take the tally to 12.