IWG is preparing to make a final call on pursuing a stock market listing in the US as the company seeks to persuade investors it should be valued more like tech darlings Uber Technologies Inc. or Airbnb Inc.
The London-listed flexible office company has switched the currency in which it reports to dollars and is reviewing adopting US GAAP accounting standards to reflect the fact that most of its earnings are generated in the region, according to a statement Tuesday.
The group, which owns the Regus serviced office brand, will likely make an “announcement regarding the company’s intentions” on whether to adopt GAAP during the first half of this year, it said.
IWG would join an exodus of companies choosing to list in the US. While no final decisions have been taken, the company is likely to opt for a single listing, according to Chief Executive Officer Mark Dixon. That could be a blow for London which has struggled to attract or retain companies to a stock market where performance has lagged.
Technology champion Cambridge, England-based Arm Holdings Plc opted for a US float last year instead of in the British capital.
The potential shift to the US comes as IWG ramped up its expansion plans, doubling its rate of new center openings in
2023 thanks to its pivot toward franchising which has reduced spending on capital expenditure. Revenue climbed to £3.3 billion in the year through December, the highest in the company’s 35-year history.
The company has been reshaping its portfolio to try to cash in on post-covid shifts in working patterns. It is betting on growing demand for flexible office space in locations that are closer to where people live, allowing them to cut commute times.
Its also moved away from traditional leases and now positions itself as a partner for landlords that can operate flexible office spaces and share in the revenue generated through management agreements.
The company has been trying to persuade investors that makes it a capital light platform business that is more like home sharing company Airbnb or Uber, which connects riders and drivers, than a traditional serviced office company.
The evolution of its model is designed to be both less capital intensive and less exposed to the mismatch between long term liabilities and short term income inherent in renting and subletting.
IWG’s board is currently examining whether shifting to a US listing would help increase the multiple at which the company trades in part thanks to the greater depth of the US market, Dixon said in an interview Tuesday.
“If you look at Uber or Airbnb, their multiples are much higher than we are, we are at six to seven, they are in the 30s to 50s,” Dixon said. “People understand Uber or Airbnb, they just don’t understand us yet. This is a platform business.”
The company has struggled to persuade investors it deserves to be valued on a higher multiple in part because of a lack of comparable rivals, Dixon said. The closest competitor is WeWork Inc., the bankrupt flexible office company, but it is a fraction of IWG’s size, mostly uses traditional leases and is concentrated in a few major city centers, he said.
IWG has so far taken on about 40 to 50 locations that were previously operated by WeWork “but they haven’t really done their big closure push just yet,” Dixon added.
IWG fell as much as 7.1% in early London trading and was down 4.8% as of 10:01 a.m.
