WeWork

Australia adopted coworking early — local spaces existed from 2006 — and by 2016 Sydney's flexible-office market was growing fast, with WeWork the global category champion after raising US$800 million that year for international expansion. Australia was a natural target: expensive CBD space, a booming startup scene, and corporates experimenting with flexible workspace.

WeWork's first Australian site opened on 4 October 2016 in Martin Place — the symbolic heart of Sydney's financial district — with desks from $850 a month. The address itself was the marketing: startups could buy a blue-chip postcode by the desk.

From the Sydney flagship, WeWork added multiple Sydney sites (5 Martin Place, 333 George Street, 100 Harris Street) and expanded into Melbourne and Brisbane, before eyeing Perth with a planned ~8,000 sqm space at Central Park Tower — chasing national coverage for enterprise clients.

Against established local operators, WeWork differentiated on design, community programming and a global membership network — renting identity, not just square metres.

WeWork's global overexpansion culminated in its notorious valuation collapse and restructuring. Yet the Australian sites remained open and continue trading today — the local business's fundamentals (prime locations, real occupancy) outlived the parent's balance sheet drama.

• One local hire became the whole franchise. Balder Tol joined as WeWork's first Australian employee in 2016 as director of community, rose to general manager Australia by 2018, added Southeast Asia to his remit in 2021, and led the combined business until departing in early 2025 after nearly nine years — growing Australian membership to more than 12,000 along the way.
• The flagship had a story. The Martin Place site occupies three floors of the renovated 1916 "Money Box Building" — the Commonwealth Bank landmark once depicted on children's coin banks — surrounded by Australia's financial institutions, giving startups a blue-chip address by the desk.

• Flagship-first entry created instant brand gravity in a market that respects addresses.
• Genuine local demand — Sydney's coworking boom predated WeWork; it surfed a wave rather than creating one.
• Enterprise mix insulated Australian sites when startup demand wobbled.
• But: the same growth-at-all-costs lease model that built the network nearly destroyed it globally — Australia inherited the parent's risk without controlling it.

• First site: Martin Place, Sydney — opened 4 October 2016
• Desks from $850/month at launch
• Expansion across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth
• US$16B parent valuation at entry; US$800M raised in 2016 for global expansion

1. In real-estate-anchored businesses, the first address is a brand decision, not a cost decision.
2. Entering on the back of an existing local trend beats evangelising a new behaviour.
3. A subsidiary can execute well and still be hostage to the parent's capital structure — local partners and landlords will price that risk.
4. Premium positioning survives downturns only when paired with genuinely defensible locations.