Office-sharing startup WeWork has posted a $2.06bn (£1.45bn) quarterly loss after being hit hard by Covid-19.

The announcement comes as WeWork prepares for its stock market debut.

The company's first attempt to go public collapsed in 2019 over concerns about its business model and co-founder Adam Neumann's leadership style.

Since Mr Neumann's exit the company has gone through a major shakeup that has seen major job cuts and businesses sold off.

The business felt the impact of the pandemic particularly hard as social distancing rules drove a surge in people working from home and concerns about infections saw workers avoiding shared office spaces.

WeWork, which is backed by Japanese tech giant SoftBank, said its first-quarter revenue almost halved from a year ago to $598m.

But the firm said people are now returning to its offices as coronavirus restrictions are eased.

Its occupancy rate edged up to 50% in the most recent quarter, compared to 47% in the previous three months.

The company also said it expects the change in working habits to increase demand for the kind of short-term leases it offers.

Share This Post