Office-leasing giant WeWork is in talks to hire an outside adviser to help it renegotiate its leases even as the coronavirus outbreak worsens its financial mess around the world.
The New York company, which leases office space and then sublets it to entrepreneurs and other businesses, is in talks to hire real-estate brokerage Newmark Knight Frank to review and then rejigger its global lease obligations, The Post has learned. It’s also in talks with real-estate advisory company JLL, sources said.
“As part of our plan to seek profitable growth, we are conducting an in-depth review of operations and assets globally in order to rightsize the business and optimize our real-estate portfolio,” a WeWork spokesperson said. “As we work through this process, we are working with industry partners where appropriate.”
Sources attributed the push to WeWork Chief Executive Sandeep Mathrani, who was brought in to clean house following the company’s failed IPO last year. “Sandeep was hired to come in and evaluate everything,” said a person with knowledge of the situation who was not authorized to speak on the record. “Could you see a couple of leases go to sublease — of course. Others may be extended,” the person said.
WeWork on Thursday told investors the $4.4 billion in cash it had at year-end 2019 is enough to execute its five-year plan and manage the challenges posed by the coronavirus crisis.
As of the end of the fourth quarter, WeWork had more than 662,000 members across 140 cities and 37 countries — many of whom are now out of work or struggling to stay afloat.
