A rising star in the co-working space

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Hello readers,

Real estate is a tricky business. As someone who’s been searching for his first home, take it from me: The myriad factors to think about can add up and make what should be a fun process an exhausting one real quick.

And that’s just one household looking to put a roof over their heads. When it comes to commercial real estate such as co-working spaces, the considerations and the consequences multiply, particularly with the pandemic reconfiguring how we think about work spaces.

Despite this upheaval, one co-working player just keeps growing: JustCo, who is now valued at just north of US$1 billion.

Today, we look at:

• How JustCo has slowly and steadily built its way to the top
• Flipkart adding gaming to its ecommerce arsenal
• Other newsy highlights such as what Ant Group needs to do to resuscitate its IPO and how social media giants are fighting election season misinformation

PREMIUM SUMMARY

JustCo just keeps going

Despite the pandemic, the Singapore-headquartered co-working space provider has continued to expand – research firm VentureCap Insights pegs the startup’s valuation at just north of US$1 billion. The amount is based on JustCo’s filings after it secured US$74 million from Japan’s Daito Trust Construction early this year.

• Post-Covid-19 expectations: The firm’s rising valuation could reflect the belief that the new normal will see an increasing demand for co-working spaces due to the greater flexibility and affordability that these services offer.
• Truly strategic investors: JustCo has raised funds from Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC and Frasers Property – the former’s investment portfolio includes real estate, while the latter owns and manages properties. Choosing strategic investors in local landowners and funds opens up opportunities for accelerated expansion.
• Spending money to make money: The company logged US$40 million in revenue in 2019, up from less than US$1 million in 2018. But its losses from operating activities also soared nearly 2x from over US$8.4 million in 2018 to US$16.5 million in 2019.

Read more: Is JustCo Southeast Asia’s co-working unicorn?

STARTUP SPOTLIGHT

Flipkart wants (its users) to have some fun