Despite shelved IPO, WeWork still expanding in Singapore

SINGAPORE (Oct 10): WeWork, the provider of co-working spaces, on Thursday launched its new space at 9 Battery Road, in the heart of Singapore’s central business district (CBD).

WeWork 9 Battery Road occupies the prime commercial MYP Centre building and is the first location in Singapore to feature a mini-golf playzone.

The new launch comes despite a series of unfortunate events experienced by WeWork.

First, its controversial co-founder and CEO, Adam Neumann, stepped down following concerns about corporate governance and the money-losing startup’s aggressive spending. Then, WeWork withdrew the prospectus for its initial public offering (IPO), pulling the rug from under one of the most hotly anticipated IPOs this year.

See: WeWork withdraws IPO after tumultuous month marked by CEO's exit

Despite all these happening, WeWork is determined to continue its expansion in Singapore. The co-working start-up will be opening at two more new locations in the city state, around the CBD area at 83 Clemenceau Road and 30 Prinsep Street, by the end of this year.

Jonathan Tahir, chairman of MYP Ltd says, “With flexible spaces as the new competitive advantage in the commercial real estate market, WeWork is a natural fit in adding vibrancy and strengthening the value it brings into the 9 Battery Road building. We look forward to achieving greater heights together with WeWork as we continue our growth trajectory.”