The St. Petersburg company claims the business of the American network of coworking spaces

The St. Petersburg network of coworking spaces PAGE (part of the Best Group of Companies) is interested in buying the Russian division of the American network WeWork. RBC Petersburg was informed about this in a Russian company. WeWork began selling its operating business in RUSSIA back in 2020. it has not yet been possible to find buyers due to “inflated expectations for the value of their assets in the current market situation,” real estate market experts say. However, against the backdrop of a massive exodus of foreign brands from Russia, WeWork may meet the buyer, and the deal will take place in 2022.

"Become a guarantor of the fulfillment of obligations"

“If agreements are reached on the deal, PAGE MC will be able to maintain a high level of quality of office spaces for resident companies and owners of premises under the joint WeWork-PAGE brand, which will become a guarantee that the WeWork brand will fulfill its obligations to partners and customers,” the message says. UK PAGE. Negotiations between the companies are in the initial stage, their details were not disclosed.

Now WeWork has four working co-working spaces in Moscow: in the ARCUS III business center on Leningradsky Prospekt (with an area of ​​4.4 thousand sq. m), in the Krasnaya Roza business center on Timur Frunze street (3.9 thousand sq. m), in the office center "Belaya Ploshchad" at the Belorussky railway station (5.8 thousand sq. m.) and in the shopping gallery "Bolshaya Yakimanka, 26" (3.2 thousand sq. m.). Andrei Zhamkin, CEO of the WeWork flexible office network in Russia, Central and Eastern Europe, refused to comment on the prospects for a potential deal with PAGE to RBC Petersburg.

The PAGE coworking network has been developing since 2019. She has 9 properties in St. Petersburg, and announced the opening of co-working franchises under this brand in Kirov and Tver. The network has not yet been represented on the Moscow market.

Two years looking for buyers

The fact that WeWork decided to abandon its real estate in Russia and is negotiating the assignment of the lease rights for all its premises in Moscow with several large networks, the media wrote in the summer of 2020. It was reported that the company plans to keep its brand in the country, granting the right to use it under a franchise under an agreement with the buyer of the operating business. However, almost two years later, it was not possible to find buyers.

“In many ways, the reason is obvious - it is likely that pre-pandemic leases were fixed at market rates without adjusting for the pandemic and the subsequent increase in vacancies. I am sure that even today WeWork has inflated expectations for the value of its assets in the current market situation,” says Ivan Pochinshchikov, managing partner of IPG.Estate.

According to his forecasts, the level of vacant space in general in the office real estate market will grow, including in the segment of flexible office spaces. The reason for this is the massive migration of IT companies and the outflow of foreign businesses, which is especially noticeable in Moscow. WeWork, being a multinational player, used to have an advantage in terms of accommodating foreign residents, experts say. However, according to them, now in Russia this factor plays against the network. In addition, the company keeps rental rates in the upper price range, which, in the face of reduced demand for office space, makes it difficult to attract customers, experts believe.

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As RBC Petersburg previously reported, just a month after the start of the special operation in Ukraine, some metropolitan co-working spaces decreased by 10% compared to January, to 85%. Employees of Russian and foreign IT companies that left the country began to vacate space in co-working spaces and flexible offices in the capital. In St. Petersburg, the situation is more stable, since local coworking operators are focused not only on large corporate clients, but include a significant share of offices for small teams (mini-offices) and rely on them, as well as on open-space.

“I do not rule out that WeWork may sell its assets and the deal will take place in 2022. In my estimation, the deal will go through if WeWork lowers its cost expectations. Probably, if the network has plans for a quick exit from Russia, then the operator will meet the buyer. But the main difficulty with WeWork projects for the future owner will be the maintenance of the space that needs to be filled with tenants,” Ivan Pochinshchikov believes.

According to Becar Asset Management, the total volume of the market for coworking and flexible offices in Moscow reached 321.6 thousand sq. m in 2021. m in 235 objects. This corresponds to 1.6% of the entire Moscow office market (including class C). Over the past year, the market has replenished with new objects for 81.4 thousand square meters. In 2022, it is planned to launch about 40 new facilities in this segment with a total area of ​​about 220,000 sq. m. m. However, given the decline in demand, the launch of some projects may be postponed, experts predict.