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There is clearly a market for WeWork... and many competitors. WeWork is and will be a great company, no matter what. WeWork main competitor is Regus, founded i

by hbbio 7y ago

There is clearly a market for WeWork... and many competitors. WeWork is and will be a great company, no matter what. WeWork main competitor is Regus, founded in 1989. Regus is now present worldwide with revenues of 2.535 billion GBP (2018). Their market cap is a mere 3.68 billion! There are also tons of smaller companies in that sector which are not international (mostly 1/2 countries) with much lower valuations. So, the business model is fine, the market fine, the room to expansion here (especially with growth of remote work). Just the previous valuation wasn't.

marcinzm 7y ago
>WeWork is and will be a great company, no matter what. That depends on their financial state. If they over expanded with the expectation of future capital to cover future contractual costs then they'll need to find a way to cover those costs without funding. That could be impossible without declaring bankruptcy.
chrisseaton 7y ago
Have you ever been in a Regus office? They're horrible spaces. They don't get it. WeWork is a lot nicer. That's why they're worth a lot more.
- hbbio 7y ago
  Yes, I did rent an office from Regus a few years ago... and it did look horrible! But for the difference in valuation, that's an easy thing to do in a LBO: Hire a Chief Design Officer! Thanks to WeWork maybe, their new offices are better: https://www.regus.co.uk/offices/united-kingdom/county-edinburgh/edinburgh/office-space/edinburgh-spaces-lochrin-square https://www.regus.co.uk/offices/united-kingdom/county-edinbu...
- cure 7y ago
  Yeah. Regus offices are dreadfully bland. Also, they nickel and dime you for every little thing (you want an hour of wifi for that meeting room you booked? it's going to cost you...). Regus is also very expensive, as office space goes.
  - samsonradu 7y ago
    This could be due to the fact that margins are slim and they're trying to make a profit?
- ohashi 7y ago
  I've been a few times in different locations around the world. They were blander than WeWork and had about the same level of community. It was just an office. WeWork branded itself as something special... it isn't. It's a slightly nicer looking office (with beer* maybe). Regus is profitable and has a valuation in line with what they do. WeWork... doesn't.
- inthewoods 7y ago
  I'm probably in the minority but I find WeWork spaces horrible - just a collection of fishbowls. I can't get out of there fast enough.
deleted 7y ago
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icelancer 7y ago
>> WeWork main competitor is Regus Not really. Regus is brutally bad. I am not a fan of WeWork specifically but it's vastly superior to Regus' offices, old-school style of lead capture, and terrible dealing with its customers. I now lease from an independent co-working space to expand on my small business' offices until we can find a larger space at a reasonable price (good luck with that in Seattle), and it's been great. WeWork helped push co-working along. Regus has done absolutely nothing in this regard for decades.

by hbbio 7y ago

marcinzm 7y ago

>WeWork is and will be a great company, no matter what. That depends on their financial state. If they over expanded with the expectation of future capital to cover future contractual costs then they'll need to find a way to cover those costs without funding. That could be impossible without declaring bankruptcy.

chrisseaton 7y ago

Have you ever been in a Regus office? They're horrible spaces. They don't get it. WeWork is a lot nicer. That's why they're worth a lot more.

hbbio 7y ago
Yes, I did rent an office from Regus a few years ago... and it did look horrible! But for the difference in valuation, that's an easy thing to do in a LBO: Hire a Chief Design Officer! Thanks to WeWork maybe, their new offices are better: https://www.regus.co.uk/offices/united-kingdom/county-edinburgh/edinburgh/office-space/edinburgh-spaces-lochrin-square https://www.regus.co.uk/offices/united-kingdom/county-edinbu...
cure 7y ago
Yeah. Regus offices are dreadfully bland. Also, they nickel and dime you for every little thing (you want an hour of wifi for that meeting room you booked? it's going to cost you...). Regus is also very expensive, as office space goes.
- samsonradu 7y ago
  This could be due to the fact that margins are slim and they're trying to make a profit?
ohashi 7y ago
I've been a few times in different locations around the world. They were blander than WeWork and had about the same level of community. It was just an office. WeWork branded itself as something special... it isn't. It's a slightly nicer looking office (with beer* maybe). Regus is profitable and has a valuation in line with what they do. WeWork... doesn't.
inthewoods 7y ago
I'm probably in the minority but I find WeWork spaces horrible - just a collection of fishbowls. I can't get out of there fast enough.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

icelancer 7y ago

>> WeWork main competitor is Regus Not really. Regus is brutally bad. I am not a fan of WeWork specifically but it's vastly superior to Regus' offices, old-school style of lead capture, and terrible dealing with its customers. I now lease from an independent co-working space to expand on my small business' offices until we can find a larger space at a reasonable price (good luck with that in Seattle), and it's been great. WeWork helped push co-working along. Regus has done absolutely nothing in this regard for decades.