WeWork Will Renovate UBS Office in Its Biggest Design Deal
The co-working startup is moving to reduce expensive office leases and instead help companies redesign and run spaces they already inhabit.
A WeWork rendering of the lounge in the upcoming UBS office in Weehawken, N.J.
Source: WeWorkUBS Group AG decided last year that its 30-year-old wealth management office overlooking the Hudson River needed a fresh look. So it hired WeWork Cos., a trendy operator of shared offices. The startup presented a clear vision: You need a juice bar, meditation room and a lot more greenery.
The deal between the bank and the New York-based co-working company is the biggest by revenue for WeWork’s Powered by We business, the startup said. WeWork established Powered by We last year to offer real estate, design and office management expertise to large companies. It also allows the startup to reduce its need to take on expensive office leases and instead help redesign and run spaces that customers already inhabit. Construction on the UBS space will begin mid-next year. Both companies declined to comment on terms of the agreement.