WeWork (The We Company) has announced the launch of its £2.2 billion property acquisition and management platform, ARK.
As part of WeWork Property Advisors (the joint venture between WeWork and Rhône Group), ARK will focus on acquiring, developing, and managing property assets in global gateway cities and high-growth secondary markets.
Steve Langman — managing director of Rhône Group and member of The We Company’s board of directors — has been appointed as ARK’s chairman, and Wendy Silverstein — from New York Reit and Vornado Realty Trust — has been appointed the platform’s chief investment officer. The venture is backed by Ivanhoé Cambridge — subsidiary of Canadian’s Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.
Managing partner at ARK, Rich Gomel: said: “We have seen first-hand the value that the WeWork ecosystem can create for landlords and real estate partners… The launch of ARK will help drive growth by leveraging The We Company’s extensive real estate experience and network. ARK has been set up to capitalise on that opportunity and allow us to provide different partnership options for the real estate community to participate in the growth and expansion of the We Company.”
While Sylvain Fortier — chief investment and innovation officer at Ivanhoé Cambridge —stated: “Like The We Company, we believe there is enormous upside in disrupting traditional norms of real estate. We share the same vision, commitment to social responsibility, and long-term approach towards real estate making this a natural partnership and one that we are confident will be transformational for both companies. The We Company brings its creative and innovative talent, along with its technological and design expertise, which are essential to meeting the new expectations of real estate spaces whether it is in the commercial or residential sphere. ARK brings a strong team of acquisition and asset management professionals and deep relationships with The We Company. I think we will complement each other beautifully.”
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