The Irish arm of US based co-working space firm, WeWork last year recorded pre-tax losses of €16.48m.
New accounts show that WeWork Community Workspace Ireland Ltd last year recorded the losses after writing off €16.2m which arose mainly in loans due from group undertakings.
The pre-tax loss of €16.48m for 2022 followed a modest pre-tax profit of €17,595 for 2021.
The US arm of WeWork filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in early November and the new 2022 accounts for the Irish business have been prepared on a going concern basis.
In a note attached to the accounts for the Irish entity signed off on December 7th, the directors state that "the financial position of the group represents a material uncertainty that may cast significant doubt on the company's ability to continue as a going concern".
The directors for the firm earlier state in their report that the Irish company was not included in WeWork’s filing for bankruptcy protection "and the directors do not expect any impact to the company’s operations".
In Ireland, WeWork is the anchor tenant at the former Central Bank of Ireland building on Dame Street in Dublin and is one of the biggest tenants in Dublin where WeWork separately occupies space at 2 Dublin Landings building in the docklands as well as Harcourt Road and the Charlemont Exchange near the Grand Canal.
WeWork once had a private valuation of $47 billion (€44 billion) and its roller-coaster ride in the commercial property sector in the US was documented in a 2022 drama WeCrashed starring Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway.
The global operation endured a 98% decline in its share price this year, leaving it with a market capitalisation of less than $50m when filing for bankruptcy protection last month.
The new accounts for the Irish business show that its revenues declined from €1.14m to €1.09m last year.
The company expanded its range of functions here in 2021 when it began selling pay as you go access to book individual workspace or conference rooms at nearby WeWork locations.
The firm also acts as an intermediate holding company for investment into the Irish operating entities of its ultimate parent.
Auditors of the Irish based unit, RSM Ireland draw attention to the material uncertainty concerning the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.
The auditors state that the financial position of the group and events and conditions outlined by the directors indicate that a material uncertainty existed at the date of signing these financial statements that may cast significant doubt on the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.
RSM Ireland state that "our opinion is not modified in respect of this matter".
On behalf of RSM Ireland, Niall May states that "notwithstanding the material uncertainty, in auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the directors’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate".
Numbers employed by the business last year totalled 21 and staff costs last year totalled €719,867.
The firm had a shareholders’ deficit of €17m at the end of December 2022. The company’s cash funds declined from €6.7m to €2m.
