WeWork has money to spend on trophy properties, and spend they will. The co-working giant partnered with two other companies to purchase a warehouse/office complex in London for about $826 million. The move follows last year’s $850 million deal for a global headquarters on Fifth Avenue in New York.
WeWork will now own 10 percent of Devonshire Square Estate in Central London, and the companies TH Real Estate and PFA Ejendomme A/S, a Danish firm, will each own 45 percent, according to Bloomberg. Blackstone Group sold the space.
WeWork began negotiating to buy the complex last year and later brought PFA and TH Real Estate on board, Bloomberg reported. It’s betting heavily on England’s capital city. In January, the Financial Times reported that WeWork was the largest corporate occupier of space in Central London, with 2.6 million square feet leased since 2012. Only the U.K. government leases more space.
The $20 billion company, which is backed by $4 billion from Japanese firm Softbank, recently purchased the Chinese co-working company Naked Hub for $400 million and with private equity firm Rhone Capital bought Lord & Taylor’s flagship store in New York for $850 million to serve as its new global headquarters.
In March, The Real Deal examined WeWork CEO Adam Neumann’s penchant for striking his own deals. [Bloomberg] – Eddie Small