WeWork is also planning to announce its first co-working space location in Dubai by the end of this year. Bloomberg
WeWork is also planning to announce its first co-working space location in Dubai by the end of this year. Bloomberg
WeWork is also planning to announce its first co-working space location in Dubai by the end of this year. Bloomberg
WeWork is also planning to announce its first co-working space location in Dubai by the end of this year. Bloomberg

HSBC becomes one of WeWork's biggest tenants with 1,135 London employees to co-work


Alkesh Sharma
  • English
  • Arabic

HSBC will move more than a thousand of its London workforce to a WeWork co-working space, becoming one of the office space juggernaut's biggest tenants, the Financial Times reported.

Europe's biggest bank by assets inked a multi-year agreement with the New York company. It will relocate employees to 1,135 desks at WeWork’s Two Southbank Place facility in the Waterloo district in Central London.

The Waterloo WeWork location, with capacity for more than 6,000 desks, is expected to open in phases in July and October. WeWork has leased it from the London-based property developer Almacantar.

As a global financial hub, London is an important market for WeWork. According to the US-based real estate services firm JLL, flexible offices will account for about 11 per cent of London office spaces by 2023, up from 6.3 per cent last year.

In an earlier interview, Patrick Nelson, WeWork’s head of property for Europe, said a third of the company’s London portfolio is made up of large business customers.

“If you look at future sales and where that goes in the next two or three years, that number is increasing,” said Mr Nelson.

Valued at $47 billion, WeWork has over 500 locations in nearly 30 countries; the HSBC agreement represents one of its biggest deals in Europe to date.

Co-working space is growing faster than other segments of real estate industry, noted JLL. “With huge amount of venture capital poured into the [co-working] sector, the aggressive growth rate shows no signs of slowing.”

Nearly 1,688 new co-working spaces will be opened worldwide in 2019, a little less than half in the US, according to a report by Coworking Resources. While that is 500 less than the last year. However, the number of co-working spaces will grow more than 40 per cent in next three years and reach 25,968 globally, it added.

WeWork, which is backed by Japan’s SoftBank VisionFund, which counts Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund as its two largest outside investors, is also planning to enter the Middle East by the end of this year with the announcement of its first location in Dubai.

Founded in 2010, the company offers diverse options of private offices and desks, with varying prices depending on the markets. For example, one can rent a desk in Mumbai at $150 (Dh550) but the same will not cost less than $400 in London.

Besides leasing properties, WeWork has also started to purchase properties but it remains a small part of its business.

WeWork counts rivals like Regus, Knotel, Convene and Impact Hub, which all take on long-term leases on buildings in city centres. They in turn refurbish the space with modern amenities and sleek meeting areas to entice tenants on all-inclusive contracts for shorter periods than typical office space landlords.

McLaren GT specs

Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8

Transmission: seven-speed

Power: 620bhp

Torque: 630Nm

Price: Dh875,000

On sale: now

Quick%20facts
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Two products to make at home

Toilet cleaner

1 cup baking soda 

1 cup castile soap

10-20 drops of lemon essential oil (or another oil of your choice) 

Method:

1. Mix the baking soda and castile soap until you get a nice consistency.

2. Add the essential oil to the mix.

Air Freshener

100ml water 

5 drops of the essential oil of your choice (note: lavender is a nice one for this) 

Method:

1. Add water and oil to spray bottle to store.

2. Shake well before use. 

THREE
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Brief scores:

Day 1

Toss: South Africa, field first

Pakistan (1st innings) 177: Sarfraz 56, Masood 44; Olivier 4-48

South Africa (1st innings) 123-2: Markram 78; Masood 1-4

Paatal Lok season two

Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy 

Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong

Rating: 4.5/5

Continental champions

Best Asian Player: Massaki Todokoro (Japan)

Best European Player: Adam Wardzinski (Poland)

Best North & Central American Player: DJ Jackson (United States)

Best African Player: Walter Dos Santos (Angola)

Best Oceanian Player: Lee Ting (Australia)

Best South American Player: Gabriel De Sousa (Brazil)

Best Asian Federation: Saudi Jiu-Jitsu Federation

THE SPECS

Engine: 3.5-litre supercharged V6

Power: 416hp at 7,000rpm

Torque: 410Nm at 3,500rpm

Transmission: 6-speed manual

Fuel consumption: 10.2 l/100km

Price: Dh375,000 

On sale: now 

Disposing of non-recycleable masks
    Use your ‘black bag’ bin at home Do not put them in a recycling bin Take them home with you if there is no litter bin
  • No need to bag the mask
LEAGUE CUP QUARTER-FINAL DRAW

Stoke City v Tottenham

Brentford v Newcastle United

Arsenal v Manchester City

Everton v Manchester United

All ties are to be played the week commencing December 21.

Volunteers offer workers a lifeline

Community volunteers have swung into action delivering food packages and toiletries to the men.

When provisions are distributed, the men line up in long queues for packets of rice, flour, sugar, salt, pulses, milk, biscuits, shaving kits, soap and telecom cards.

Volunteers from St Mary’s Catholic Church said some workers came to the church to pray for their families and ask for assistance.

Boxes packed with essential food items were distributed to workers in the Dubai Investments Park and Ras Al Khaimah camps last week. Workers at the Sonapur camp asked for Dh1,600 towards their gas bill.

“Especially in this year of tolerance we consider ourselves privileged to be able to lend a helping hand to our needy brothers in the Actco camp," Father Lennie Connully, parish priest of St Mary’s.

Workers spoke of their helplessness, seeing children’s marriages cancelled because of lack of money going home. Others told of their misery of being unable to return home when a parent died.

“More than daily food, they are worried about not sending money home for their family,” said Kusum Dutta, a volunteer who works with the Indian consulate.

How to wear a kandura

Dos

  • Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion 
  • Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
  • Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work 
  • Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester

Don’ts 

  • Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal 
  • Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying