WeWork South Africa unaffected by US bankruptcy, eyeing expansion

• WeWork South Africa will not be affected by the bankruptcy of its US counterpart.
• WeWork in the US filed for bankruptcy this week.
  
• In South Africa, however, it is focusing on expanding.
• For more stories, visit the Tech and Trends homepage.

WeWork South Africa says its US division's decision to file for bankruptcy will not have any impact on local operations. In fact, it plans to expand.

WeWork, a provider of flexible office and co-working space, offers companies and people access to a global network of working spaces.

There are three WeWork offices in South Africa - one in Cape Town and two in Johannesburg.

The company's American counterpart announced its much-anticipated bankruptcy on Monday.

But WeWork South Africa said in a statement that it was 100% independently owned by pan-African real estate investor, SiSebenza.

"As an independent entity, we are not part of this strategic reorganisation process and there will be no impact on our members, vendors, employees, and real estate partners," Andrew Robinson and Stefano Migliore said in a company statement on Tuesday.

In August this year, WeWork in the US released a statement in which it cast "substantial doubt" over the company's ability to continue operating.

It accrued huge amounts of debt and struggled to adapt to the hybrid work environment that Covid-19 lockdown restrictions had ushered in. In the statement, it said its workspaces would remain open while it is restructured.

"WeWork spaces remain open and operational and we will continue to provide our members with the exceptional experience they have come to expect."

As for WeWork South Africa, the company intends to expand its operations in South Africa and on the African continent.

The South Africans' statement said that the company's focus was on expanding the WeWork brand into Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius and Nigeria, and on growing its presence in South Africa.