To further their ongoing goal of delivering co-working and co-living spaces, multi-billion-dollar company WeWork is preparing to launch an investment vehicle to buy its own real estate properties.
This is a major strategic shift for WeWork, which has stuck to a more “asset-light” model that steers away from purchasing any of the physical spaces that it rents to short-term office tenants.
The current model has allowed the once ambitious start-up to avoid massive expenses on up-front capital investments for every dollar of revenue it makes, and it has given them the ability to stay away from dealing with acquisition costs and interest payments on mortgages.
WeWork Vice Chair Michael Gross said the company is in the process of working on a vehicle that would acquire buildings for WeWork and WeLive, in partnership with outside investors.