April 19, 2021 — WeWork, the leading flexible space provider, today announced the signing of an agreement with Ampa Group, one of the leading real estate companies in Israel, giving Ampa the exclusive right to operate WeWork Israel as a franchise.
Ampa has played an integral role in WeWork’s development across the region since the company opened its first location in Israel in 2014. Seven years later,WeWork Israel has expanded to thirteen locations across six cities, providing more than 10,000 members across the country with flexible and innovative space solutions.
This announcement is the latest chapter in the ongoing partnership between WeWork and Ampa, and solidifies the shared belief in WeWork Israel’s potential for continued success. Over the past year, WeWork has been laser focused on strengthening the business and its operations around the world, with an eye towards asset light solutions that can bring local capital and knowledge to key markets.
As a result, this franchise agreement will combine the strength of WeWork’s product with Ampa’s proven local insight and expertise. As companies around the world look to reassess their workplace needs, this partnership will ensure WeWork Israel is well positioned to meet the growing demand from enterprise clients and companies of all sizes seeking world-class, flexible space solutions.
WeWork’s Israel franchise agreement is another step its new leadership team has taken in streamlining the company, improving the fundamentals of the business and moving forward on its path to profitability. As recently announced in its merger agreement with BowX Acquisition Corp. the company has a fully subscribed $800 million PIPE which includes investors like Starwood Capital Group, Fidelity, Insight Partners, and BlackRock.
Sandeep Mathrani, CEO, WeWork: “As the world begins to emerge from the pandemic and the demand for flexible, turn-key space solutions at scale continues to grow, WeWork’s product is more relevant than ever before. With its proven track record and in-depth understanding of the market, Ampa is the right partner to not only strengthen our business in Israel, but also propel it forward.”
Shlomi Fogel, Chairman, Ampa Group: “Being WeWork’s local partner for the past seven years, we are excited to start operating WeWork Israel exclusively. We have full confidence in the WeWork product as the global leading solution for flexible spaces. We believe that the Ampa team together with the WeWork local team will strengthen and expand the business in the Israeli market, especially considering the challenges post COVID-19.”
The Israel franchise deal is expected to close by the end of the second quarter and is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
About WeWork
WeWork was founded in 2010 with the vision to create environments where people and companies come together and do their best work. Since opening our first location in New York City, we’ve grown into a global flexible space provider committed to delivering technology-driven flexible solutions, inspiring spaces, and unmatched community experiences. Today, we’re constantly reimagining how the workplace can help everyone, from freelancers to Fortune 500s, be more motivated, productive, and connected. For more information about WeWork, please visit us at wework.com.
About Ampa Group
Ampa Group is one of the largest holding companies in Israel, active in various fields including real estate, finance, industry, agriculture, and energy. The real estate activity includes the ownership and management of more than 400,000 sqm of offices, commercial and logistics properties, with tenants like Google, PayPal and VMware.